Briefing on boat strikes in Venezuela leaves Democrats frustrated

Democrats appeared angry and frustrated at a classified briefing Thursday about the Trump administration’s military strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee said they were dissatisfied with the answers they received during the members-only briefing and that they were unclear about its legality and the administration’s “end game.”

“Our job is to oversee the use of lethal force by our military outside the United States, and I leave without understanding how or why they would make an assessment that the use of lethal force is appropriate here.” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colorado), a former US Army officer, told reporters after the news conference.

Crowe added: “You know what I heard today was a tactical brief. I heard no strategy, no end game, no assessment of how to end the flow of drugs into the United States, which should happen, by the way.”

Administration lawyers were prepared to explain the legal rationale for the attacks against alleged drug smuggling ships on both sides of South America that killed at least 61 people, but they “called it off at the last minute,” according to Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).

“They just said they can’t answer these questions because the lawyers aren’t here. They canceled the lawyers here,” Moulton, a former Marine, told reporters.

He said those who gave the briefing were “some politicians” from the administration and the deputy commander of US Southern Command (Southcom).

“My last word to the admiral is: I hope you realize the constitutional danger you are facing and the danger you are putting our forces in,” Moulton said.

The latest strike occurred on Wednesday, when four “narco-terrorists” were killed in a raid in the eastern Pacific, according to Defense Minister Pete Hegseth.

The military action comes at a time when the Trump administration has indicated its intention to end the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The United States has amassed a massive American military presence in the Caribbean, sending warships, spy planes, F-35s, at least one submarine, and most recently directing the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group into the region.

The administration said the boat attacks were intended to prevent fentanyl from reaching the United States, although Rep. Sarah Jacobs (D-Calif.) said after the briefing that most of the drugs contained cocaine.

“They admitted that all the drugs that come out of this part of the world are cocaine,” Jacobs told reporters. “They talked a little bit about the relationship between cocaine and fentanyl, although I’m not convinced that what they said was accurate.” “And I think this shows that it’s not actually about addressing fentanyl and the deaths of Americans, which is a really huge problem that we have to address.”

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said “yes” when asked if there would be more briefings. He and the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), declined to provide details of what happened at the briefing.

Lawmakers who spoke to reporters after the briefing said his tone was “fairly collectivist,” with Jacobs saying Republicans are “equally frustrated by the lack of answers.”

Lawmakers from both parties have for weeks asked the administration to provide legal justification for the strikes and more evidence that the individuals targeted on the ships are drug traffickers.

White House press secretary Anna Kelly attacked Democrats, saying they were promoting “false claims” about the campaign to “distract” the public from the shutdown.

She said in a statement to The Hill that the Pentagon held nine “bipartisan” briefings on the boat strikes and that the department was “working individually through requests” from lawmakers.

“It is pathetic that these Democrats care more about covering up foreign drug traffickers and illegal immigrants seeking taxpayer-funded health care than they do about paying federal employees and protecting American citizens from deadly drugs,” Kelly said.

A senior administration official said that the Pentagon made senior officials available to answer questions about the strikes, and that the classified briefings included members and staff of the House and Senate leadership, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the House and Senate Foreign Affairs Committees, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committees.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the administration for holding a briefing Wednesday evening on the legality of the strikes that included only GOP senators.

“Someone has to be held accountable for this,” Warner said Thursday during a news conference.

“Didn’t someone raise their hand and say, ‘Well, my God, where are the Democrats?’ And who was willing to say, you know, ‘Isn’t there a constitutional obligation here?'” “You know, it’s about the separation of powers,” Warner said.

During the news conference, the administration shared an opinion drafted by Justice Department lawyers saying the strikes fall within the bounds of the law.

“If you had a valid legal opinion, wouldn’t you want to share it with all members?” Warner said.

Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Democrats can request a briefing on intelligence matters whenever they want, and praised the officials who briefed senators.

“Some people wanted to hear about the law and the power of the president, and they are a minority of people,” Risch told reporters Thursday. “The other group, which I’m part of, wanted to hear about how many drugs you sank to the bottom of the sea? And they gave us information on both. It’s a good briefing.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Trump, said the administration should brief both Democrats and Republicans.

“I think there should be a briefing to Congress on what’s going on,” Graham, who did not attend Wednesday’s conference, told reporters Thursday.

There were three known survivors of the strikes. Two were returned to Ecuador and Colombia earlier this month. Mexican search and rescue authorities accepted a third ship this week.

“Part of the reason they can’t actually detain or prosecute individuals who survive an attack is because they don’t have the burden of evidence,” Jacobs said Thursday.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, declined to speak to reporters immediately after the news conference, but later issued a statement criticizing the administration for not providing more information.

“The briefing was astonishing; incredible because of how little information was exchanged, how little time the briefers spent answering questions, and the complete absence of any credible legal justification for the continued unauthorized expansion of these strikes by the administration,” Meeks said.

Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.) told The Hill after the news conference that officials did not discuss the weapons systems used by the U.S. military to destroy ships.