Wicker and Reed Hegseth demand to share strike orders in the Caribbean
Sens. Jack Reed (D-Mo.) and Roger Wicker (R-Mo.) on Friday called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide them with copies of orders issued to strike boats in the Caribbean that the Trump administration says are trafficking drugs.
They fired off two letters addressed to Hegseth. The first was sent on September 23, setting out the legal requirements mandating congressional oversight of military execution orders (EXORDS). These orders are scheduled to be sent to the defense committees within 15 days of their issuance, according to the first letter.
“Unfortunately, the administration has not complied with this requirement,” the letter said.
A second letter sent on October 6 asking A A written opinion from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel regarding the legal basis – domestic or international – for carrying out these strikes and related operations.
The senators also requested a complete list of “all terrorist and drug trafficking organizations with which the President has determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict and against which lethal military force could be used.”
“To date, these documents have not been provided,” a statement issued Friday by Reed’s office said.
Tensions continue to rise between the United States and Venezuela as the Trump administration launches strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats. The deployment of warships, surveillance aircraft and fighter jets, along with covert CIA operations in Venezuela that appear to have been authorized by President Trump, has led to speculation about possible military operations targeting the South American country.
Trump and his close allies have raised the prospect of US ground strikes in Venezuela. The administration has reportedly accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of controlling the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal gang, which the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
While the Wall Street Journal reported that the administration had identified military facilities in Venezuela used for drug trafficking as potential targets for the attack, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday called reports that the United States had decided to launch an attack a “fake story.”
Earlier in the day, Trump said it was “not true” that the United States was planning to strike Venezuela.
A YouGov poll conducted on Friday showed that 42 percent of Americans oppose military intervention in Venezuela, while 27 percent support it. The majority of those surveyed oppose land invasions, boat strikes, and the deployment of US Navy ships in the waters surrounding the country.
