US Military Continues Lethal Strikes on Vessels Amidst Shifting Venezuela Policy

Recent Lethal Strikes

• 🎯 Southcom recently conducted three lethal kinetic strikes on vessels, resulting in 11 alleged narco-terrorists killed.
• 💡 These strikes occurred on February 16th in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, targeting vessels on "known narco-trafficking routes."
• ⚠️ The operations were carried out from air-conditioned rooms in Florida, with no US military forces harmed.

Questionable Intelligence & Justification

• 🔍 The US relies on claims that intelligence confirmed vessels were engaged in narco-trafficking operations, but specific details are scarce.
• 📌 Speakers suggest intelligence might be based solely on boats transiting known routes, without concrete proof of drug involvement or destination.
• 📊 The US Coast Guard reportedly gets interdictions wrong one-third of the time, even with direct observation, raising concerns about remote drone strikes.
• 🚨 These strikes are characterized as a "crime against humanity," with at least 42 boats hit and 144 people killed to date without trial.

Evolving US Policy on Venezuela

• 🔑 The original US justification for these strikes was that Maduro's regime used the "Trenagua" terrorist organization to wage war against the US via narco-trafficking.
• 💬 This justification is now complicated as Maduro is no longer the primary target; the US now praises Deli Rodriguez as running Venezuela.
• 💡 The US claims to be "running Venezuela" and that Rodriguez is doing a "tremendous job," effectively making her an ally.

Erosion of Legal Basis

• ⚖️ The shift in US policy means the legal justification for these lethal strikes has "completely evaporated."
• ❌ If the Venezuelan government is now an ally, the premise of "state actors waging war" against the US is invalid.
• 🚨 The continuation of strikes without a valid legal basis is deemed "utterly completely totally criminal," even by the government's own logic.

Call for Accountability

• 🗣️ The speakers question why these criminal activities continue and demand a justification from the Defense Department.
• ❓ They highlight the inconsistency: if the US is running Venezuela, and the strikes target Venezuelan-linked groups, then the US is effectively striking its own operations.