{"id":244531,"date":"2025-10-27T17:19:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T17:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/244531\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T17:19:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T17:19:07","slug":"republican-senator-calls-trumps-military-airstrikes-extrajudicial-killings-rand-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/244531\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican senator calls Trump\u2019s military airstrikes \u2018extrajudicial killings\u2019 | Rand Paul"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration<\/a>\u2019s military airstrikes<\/a> against boats off Venezuela\u2019s coast that the White House claims were being used for drug trafficking are \u201cextrajudicial killings\u201d, said Rand Paul<\/a>, the president\u2019s fellow Republican and US senator from Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s strong comments on the topic came on Sunday during an interview on Republican-friendly Fox News, three days after Donald Trump<\/a> publicly claimed he \u201ccan\u2019t imagine\u201d federal lawmakers would have \u201cany problem\u201d with the strikes when asked about seeking congressional approval for them.<\/p>\n

US forces in recent weeks have carried out at least eight strikes against boats in the Caribbean off Venezuela<\/a>\u2019s coast, killing about 40 people that the Trump administration has<\/a> insisted<\/a> were involved in smuggling drugs.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Fox News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream, Paul asserted that Congress has \u201cgotten no information\u201d on the campaign of strikes from Trump\u2019s administration \u2013 despite the president claiming the White House would be open to briefing the federal lawmakers about the offensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one said their name, no one said what evidence, no one said whether they\u2019re armed, and we\u2019ve had no evidence presented,\u201d Paul said of the targeted boats or those on board. He argued that the Trump administration\u2019s actions bring to mind the way China and Iran\u2019s repressive governments have previously executed drug smugglers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public,\u201d Paul contended in his conversation with Bream. \u201cSo it\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s comments separate him from other Republican members of Congress who have spoken in favor of the Trump administration\u2019s offensive near Venezuela, including US House representative Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, as reported by the US news website Semafor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Kentucky libertarian joined Democratic US senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Adam Schiff of California in introducing a war powers resolution that would have blocked the Trump administration\u2019s use of military strikes within or against Venezuela. But the measure failed to win<\/a> a majority in the Senate.<\/p>\n

Trump on Friday told the media that his administration would be willing to brief lawmakers on the strikes but simply saw no reason<\/a> to seek congressional authorization for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK?\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to kill them. They\u2019re going to be \u2013 like \u2013 dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul has had military-related disagreements<\/a> with Trump before his Sunday interview on Fox.<\/p>\n

Trump telegraphed his intent to use the US military to support his administration\u2019s goals of deporting immigrants en masse before he won his second presidency in the 2024 election. After Trump\u2019s second electoral victory but before he retook the Oval Office in January, Paul said he believed using the military in support of deportation was \u201cillegal\u201d and a task better suited for US law enforcement. \u201cIt\u2019s a terrible image, and I \u2026 oppose that,\u201d Paul said at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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