MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The U.S. military has attacked a second boat in the waters off Venezuela. President Trump ordered the strike yesterday, writing online that three men, who he called terrorists, were positively identified transporting illegal narcotics and were, quote, "killed in action." The move comes after U.S. military forces attacked another boat off Venezuela earlier this month, killing 11 people. NPR's Tom Bowman is with us now to talk about all this. Good morning, Tom.
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Michel.
MARTIN: So what more do we know?
BOWMAN: You know, not much outside of what the president announced, and no detail on how they were identified, what drugs they were carrying, where they came from, what U.S. military platform was used, what weapons. Congress was notified, I'm told, but has yet to receive a briefing. I'm also told by a source not authorized to speak that some within the government are saying the boat was heading toward Puerto Rico, but again, no detail. The administration put out this video of the boat, you know, going up in flames.
Now, we're told that the first attack earlier this month, the suspected drug boat was actually heading toward shore when the U.S. opened fire, so no seeming threat as well. So a lot of questions from lawmakers, especially the legal rationale for taking out the second boat. And also, in the past, a suspected drug boat was often contacted by the U.S. Coast Guard, maybe boarded and those on board apprehended. But the president has made clear in his message, quote, "be warned - if you are transporting drugs that can kill Americans, we are hunting you."
MARTIN: What have we heard from Venezuela?
BOWMAN: President Nicolas Maduro spoke to reporters in Caracas just before President Trump announced destroying the second boat. Maduro called that first attack a heinous crime. He said if the U.S. believed them to be drug traffickers, why didn't they just apprehend him? And no immediate reaction to the second boat being destroyed.
MARTIN: What sort of presence does the U.S. military have in the area now on what the president says is a mission against drug cartels and what he calls narco-terrorists?
BOWMAN: Right, there are some eight warships in the Caribbean, as well as more than a dozen F-35 stealth fighters in Puerto Rico. I was talking with someone in the Pentagon earlier this month who said this will be the new normal. And this guy likened it to the U.S. attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, an ongoing mission. But, Michel, you know, it's important to note that the Houthis were shooting at U.S. ships and other ships. There's no sense either suspected drug boat posed a direct risk to U.S. forces, fired on them. And the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, of course. So this could be seen as an illegal order from President Trump, and the military does not have to follow an illegal order.
MARTIN: Wow. So obviously there's something to be keeping an eye on there. You mentioned that there are a lot of questions from lawmakers. What are you hearing from Capitol Hill?
BOWMAN: Well, again, there's been no briefing. But after the first attack on the suspected drug boat, the administration did meet with some lawmakers and really didn't get a lot of detail. And the meeting was somewhat heated, with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers weighing in about the legality, with some saying this amounts to basically extrajudicial killings. The administration is saying the president was exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, which makes him commander in chief of the military, who can send U.S. forces into action.
Now, the Democrats in particular aren't buying that. Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, and two dozen other Democrats point to the 1973 War Powers Act designed to curb a president's power to send troops into harm's way. That requires a president to notify Congress within 48 hours and also remove troops within 60 days unless Congress approves an extension. But again, nothing from the Hill about the War Powers Act.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Tom Bowman. Tom, thank you.
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