In recent weeks, there have been at least five instances in which Donald Trump has ordered deadly military strikes against civilians in international waters. The White House has justified the strikes by claiming that the targets were boats that were smuggling drugs that would eventually reach the United States.
There’s no shortage of problems with the radical policy, but near the top of the list is a simple question: Where’s the evidence to support the president’s claims?
The Associated Press reported last week, “The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that alleged drug-smuggling boats targeted by the U.S. military in a series of fatal strikes were in fact carrying narcotics.”
Asked for some kind of explanation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Trump has been “very transparent about these strikes.” But she appears to have missed the point: Trump has been transparent about the existence of these strikes, but he’s kept the underlying evidence (such as it may be) about the strikes under wraps.
It was against this backdrop that The New York Times reported:
Trump was asked about members of Congress who were concerned that they did not receive enough information about who was actually on the ships targeted in the Caribbean. Trump said the boats were ‘loaded with drugs, and that’s the thing that matters.’ He added that there was ‘fentanyl dust all over the boat’ after the attack.
The whole policy, in other words, is rooted in a “trust me” defense.
Q: There are Republicans and Democrats concerned that they are not getting information about who is on those shipsTRUMP: Well, but they are given information that they are loaded up with drugs, and that's the thing that matters
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-10-15T20:13:13.675Z
The boats were loaded with drugs, because Trump says so. The boats’ crew members were “narco-terrorists” who deserved to be killed, because Trump says so. There was “fentanyl dust” on the latest military target, because Trump says so.
This would be ridiculous even in a normal administration, but given the incumbent president’s authoritarian power grabs and breathtaking record of dishonesty, it’s even more outlandish. What’s more, it’s not just the White House’s usual critics who have taken notice. NBC News reported this week that members of Congress from both parties are “growing concerned” over a lack of information from the administration “about the intelligence and strategy underlying its strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean.” The report added, “Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have left briefings about the strikes frustrated with the lack of information. … Some have asked for unedited video of the strikes, reflecting the kind of basic information they seek, but the administration has so far refused to provide it.” Something to keep in mind the next time Trump and his allies try to peddle silly boasts about his embrace of “transparency.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
