A speedboat leaves the port of San Juan De Unare, Venezuela, carrying 11 passengers. It travels about 80 nautical miles from the port. It is then blown to smithereens, killing all 11 passengers and completely destroying the boat and all of its cargo. We were made aware that it had just been destroyed by a United States military jet. We are then told that it is ok because the boat was in International Waters. We are then told the boat was carrying drugs to the United States. We are told that the boat is being operated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Trump U.S. State Department. I have one thing to say: Prove it! Since when do we have the right to destroy a speedboat in International Waters from a nation with which we are not at war? Since when do we have the right to sentence 11 people to death because we think they are part of some gang that the Trump administration has designated a terrorist organization without proof? No drugs were seized; no guns were seized, and no arrests were made.

Do drugs that come from Venezuela make it to America? The answer to that is yes, but they are transported through and not manufactured there. I have read that about 5 percent of the drugs that make it to America come through Venezuela. In 2020, it was estimated by the United States that between 200 and 250 metric tons of cocaine flowed through Venezuela annually, but this is transport only. That number represents approximately 10 to 13 percent of the global supply. Colombia manufactures more than 2500 metric tons of cocaine. The funny thing is that El Salvador was officially identified as a major drug transit country in 2024 by the U.S government, and what do we do? We help them open up a concentration camp for us to send our deportees to.

Much of the drugs, as much as 89 percent, that are transported through El Salvador are meant for the United States. El Salvador is also one of the biggest sources of human trafficking. Most of the victims are female and are sold for sex, and children are forced into labor. Salvadorians have been subjected to forced prostitution in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, the United States, Spain, and Italy. When it comes to drugs, Venezuela is small potatoes compared to much of South and Central America, so why does Trump have such a hard on for Venezuela?

Different from groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, which have declared war against the United States, Venezuela has no done such a thing. Because of that, you can’t compare the attack on the speedboat to the attacks against Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS. In America, only Congress can declare war. Because of that, the Trump Administration's declaration under the War Powers Act doesn’t hold water. We have this thing called the Constitution that Trump should be held accountable to, but for some reason is not. In many eyes, Trump has violated the War Powers Clause. More importantly, he has violated the 5^th Amendment, which says: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The killing of those 11 people, even if they are drug runners, violated one of the principles that our founding fathers held most dear. That would be due process, something that Trump is not big on.

The Trump administration stated that the boat was delivering drugs to the United States. Could that be true? Northern Columbia or Venezuela is roughly 1,200 to 1,500 nautical miles away. A cruising speedboat with 500 gallons of fuel, cruising at 30 to 40 knots, could probably travel 300 – 500 nautical miles, assuming optimal conditions and fuel efficiency. That isn’t even close to making it to Florida. I suppose they could have modified the boat to have bigger fuel tanks, but it still couldn’t make it all the way to Florida. There is no proof that the boat was carrying drugs, but for the sake of argument, let's say it was. It is a real stretch to say that it was bound for the United States. There are many easier ways to get drugs into the United States than even trying to modify a 40-foot speedboat and traveling 1500 miles by sea. I am pretty sure that boat was destined for someplace a lot closer than the United States. Because it was destroyed, we will never know. What we do know is that the United States attacked and sank a speedboat about 80 miles off the coast of Venezuela killing all eleven passengers. We know that it was in International Waters and was from a country with which we are not at war. That is not only in violation of International Law, in my opinion, but it is also in violation of our own Constitution. 

 I wonder how many boats could have been bought for the price of that missile. We have J D Vance saying it is a great way to use our military. Turning our Military into murderers is not a good choice as far as I am concerned. I don’t agree with Paul Rand often, but I do agree with him that this was a violation of the due process clause in the Constitution. When are we going to start holding our President to the Constitution and to the law, either international or domestic? Why isn’t Trump's blatant disregard for the Constitution and International law all over mainstream media? We have three branches of the Government, and two of them are not doing their job to ensure that the Constitution is followed. The worst offender is our Congress. I don’t care what political party holds what. I don’t give a damn who is liberal or conservative. They all took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, and too many violate that oath. The failure is on the shoulders of many, but the biggest may just be the Supreme Court.