Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday defended President Donald Trump's strike on a drug cartel-operated vessel off of Venezuela and vowed the U.S. will no longer "sit back" when it comes to "nacro-terrorism."
In response to questions about the Marine strike Tuesday that hit a vessel in the southern Caribbean Sea while allegedly carrying members of Tren de Aragua smuggling narcotics headed for the U.S., Rubio said, "We're not going to sit back anymore and watch these people sail up and down the Caribbean like a cruise."
The strike apparently killed 11 members of the group, which was designated a terrorist organization in February, and marked a significant shift from the U.S.'s previous seize-and-apprehend policy when countering international gang networks.
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"The president of the United States has determined that narco-terrorist organizations pose a threat to the national security of the United States. I don't need to explain to you why," Rubio said, noting that the group is known to traffic not only drugs, but arms and people.
"These are not stockbrokers. These are not real estate agents who, on the side, deal a few drugs. These are organized, corporate, structured organizations who specialize in the trafficking of deadly drugs into the United States of America," Rubio said. "They pose an immediate threat to the United States. Period."
In speaking to reporters from Mexico, where he was also hashing out counter arms and narcotics agreements, Rubio argued the previous policy of seize and apprehend was ineffective.
"Because these drug cartels, what they do is they know they're going to lose 2% of their cargo - they bake it into their economics," he said. "What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them."
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The secretary further pointed out that the arms groups like Tren de Aragua are apparently getting a hold of unconventional weaponry, including drones, and continue to pose an increasingly serious threat to international security.
"We are increasingly concerned that these cartels are now in possession, not just of landmines and grenades. We're now seeing the deployment of drone technology by narco-terrorist groups operating out of Venezuelan territory," he added, noting that they are being used to threaten security forces in neighboring states like Columbia.
Rubio confirmed the strategy employed on Tuesday is how the U.S. will continue to counter international narcotics and arms smuggling.
"It'll happen again. Maybe it's happening right now, I don't know. But the point is the president of the United States is going to wage war on narco-terrorist organizations," Rubio said.
