2025 U.S. - Venezuela conflict

[Brad Sallows]

Apparently, killing shipwrecked Kriegsmarine or IJN sailors is used as an example of a war crime in the US military’s LOAC manual.

Why is that relevant?

If the point of an attack is to sink a boatload of drugs, the attack may continue until the boatload of drugs is sunk. The best information to emerge after the initial spate of bullshit indicates that "killing shipwrecked sailors" was not the purpose of a subsequent salvo. If information emerges that definitively proves an attack was ordered specifically to kill shipwrecked sailors, then critics will have something. Mere "I know what they really were thinking" won't do.

If boatloads of drugs may legitimately be destroyed out of hand, it doesn't matter where the drugs are going. People who don't want boatloads of drugs to be destroyed out of hand are going to have to figure out ways to free up the necessary policing, court, and detention capabilities. Either create more or make some triage decisions to cut back some other uses of all of those.

 

[Genetk44]

Moving on quickly from the drugs.

Trump orders blockade of sanctioned oil tankers leaving, entering Venezuela

It is unclear how the U.S. will impose the blockade against the sanctioned vessels, and whether Trump will turn to the Coast Guard to interdict vessels like he did last week.

www.reuters.com

And now the actual raison d’être is starting to manifest….

 

[Genetk44]

There is a reason that Hegseth said today he isn’t releasing the video of that double-tap on the boat back in September…and it isn’t the bs “ national security” reason he gave. And I predict that unfortunately for him and this administration that video will eventually see the light of day and there will be consequences.