Vice President JD Vance on Saturday defended the use of U.S. military force to “kill cartel members” bringing drugs into the country, rejecting criticism that a recent airstrike on a suspected trafficking boat amounted to a war crime.
“Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance posted to X on Saturday morning.
The vice president then engaged in a back-and-forth with left-wing social media influencer Brian Krassenstein, who said, “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.”
“I don’t give a shit what you call it,” Vance replied.
The exchange came just days after the Trump administration ordered an airstrike on a suspected drug vessel departing Venezuela. President Donald Trump said the strike targeted the Tren de Aragua gang and killed 11 alleged traffickers, POLITICO reported.
“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
