PrairiePundit

  Military Times: President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” according to a Trump administration memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, after recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean. A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly said the Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday. The move comes after the U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela. ... The first military strike, carried out on Sept. 2, on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat, killed 11 people. Trump claimed the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, which was listed by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year. ... ...

 Federalist Wire: ... In a bold display of American resolve, President Donald Trump ordered the destruction of another suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean on Friday morning, obliterating a vessel laden with poisons destined for U.S. streets and sending a clear message to transnational criminals preying on American families. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth released footage of the precision hit on the “narco-terrorists,” affirming U.S. intelligence’s ironclad verification of the threat. This marks the fourth such operation under Trump’s command. “Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people,” said Hegseth. “Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard w...

 Fedealist Wire: ... In a bold display of American resolve, President Donald Trump ordered the destruction of another suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean on Friday morning, obliterating a vessel laden with poisons destined for U.S. streets and sending a clear message to transnational criminals preying on American families. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth released footage of the precision hit on the “narco-terrorists,” affirming U.S. intelligence’s ironclad verification of the threat. This marks the fourth such operation under Trump’s command. “Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people,” said Hegseth. “Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard we...

 Trending Politics: WATCH: Hegseth Releases Epic Footage Of New Strike On Narcoterrorist Boat In Caribbean Sea  The War Department on Friday released footage of another precision strike on a drug-trafficking boat off the coast of Venezuela. President Donald Trump has authorized a number of airstrikes on drug-trafficking speedboats manned by Tren de Aragua gang members — which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization due to documented links with the Venezuelan government — and has suggested that the operations will only increase in intensity. ... Venezuela is currently a rogue state that is home to narco terrorists.   Trende Aragua is apparently in the illicit drug business See also: Cartel Insider Confesses: Trump’s Border Crackdown Hits Hard In a stunning admission that points to the effectiveness of iron-fisted immigration enforcement, a purported Sinaloa cartel heavyweight told CNN that President Trump’s relentless border measures have thrown seriou...

 Federalist Wire: ... President Donald Trump’s announcement of a second U.S. military strike within two weeks targeting alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers just goes to show his administration’s aggressive stance against international drug cartels. The strike, which killed three “male terrorists” in international waters, was aimed at a vessel carrying “big bags of cocaine and fentanyl,” as Trump stated, emphasizing the operation’s role in disrupting narcotics headed for the United States. The president shared dramatic footage on Truth Social, showing a small boat exploding after a U.S. missile strike, reinforcing his message: “BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!” Trump’s approach, backed by General Dan Caine’s evidence of the boat’s illicit cargo, reflects a strategic shift toward using military force to combat cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. This escalation is justified by...

 NY Post: President Trump announced Monday that the US military carried out a second strike against alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela — telling reporters “big bags of cocaine and fentanyl” were “spattered all over the ocean.” Three “male terrorists” were killed in international waters, Trump posted on Truth Social. “The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S,” the president wrote. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.” Dramatic footage of the strike shared by Trump showed a small boat idling in choppy waters before bursting into flames after it was hit by a US missile.  Trump told journalists in the Oval Office late Monday afternoon that future airstrikes could hit Mexican cartels smuggling drugs by land — and that there was little ...

 Federalist Wire: ... President Trump is ramping up the fight against ruthless drug cartels, with the US set to deploy 10 cutting-edge F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, per what sources revealed to the New York Post. This move comes hot on the heels of a devastating US strike that took out almost a dozen Venezuelan narco-terrorists. These F-35s, the pinnacle of military technology in active service, are scheduled to touch down next week, according to a source with ties to the Trump administration. It’s a clear message that America won’t stand idly by while criminals flood our borders with poison. While the exact combat duties of these jets remain under wraps, their presence alone will act as a powerful deterrent to the drug smugglers plaguing the region. These beasts are built to dominate the skies against America’s toughest enemies, boasting unmatched stealth features. In fact, the F-35s pack enough punch to even haul nuclear payloads if needed. This deployment marks a significant...

 Newsmax: President Donald Trump is considering options for carrying out military strikes targeting drug cartels inside Venezuela, CNN reported Friday, citing multiple sources. Bombing inside Venezuela would mark a dramatic escalation in U.S. tensions with the South American country. Earlier in the week, the U.S. military struck a boat from Venezuela in the southern Caribbean, leaving 11 people dead, because, according to Trump, the vessel was transporting illegal narcotics. The strike was just the beginning of a much larger effort to rid the region of narcotics trafficking and potentially dislodge Venezuela's leftist president, Nicolas Maduro, from power, CNN reported. Neither the White House nor the Venezuelan communications ministry responded to separate requests for comment from Reuters. Asked on Friday if the U.S. was eyeing a regime change in Venezuela, Trump told reporters: "We're not talking about that, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election whi...

 Headline USA: Marines Conduct War Games in Puerto Rico as Tensions with Venezuela Escalate 'No empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela, nor should it touch the sacred soil of South America...' Venezuela has been a poorly run country under Maduro.  Any attack on Venezuela by the US would be a combined arms operation with Marines supported by the Navy and Air Force.  The operation would be to free the Venezuelan people from the misrule of Maduro.  The main target of any such attacks would be the illegal cartels. See also: ‘Murder’: World’s Biggest Cocaine Producing Country Upset Over Trump’s Narco Vessel Strike  The president of the leading cocaine producer in the world said Wednesday morning that the U.S. strike on a Tren de Aragua drug trafficking vessel Tuesday was tantamount to “murder.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said, in a post translated by the Daily Caller News Foundation, that the pilots of the boat were likely “poor young people” and that...

  PJ Media: ... Right now, the Donald Trump administration claims that the growing military presence is simply part of its enforcement efforts to keep drug cartels from getting their products into the United States, but a source close to the administration  told the New York Post  on Saturday that the "clock is about to strike midnight for Maduro."  While our country is leading the way, it's not just the U.S. putting that pressure on Maduro. As I reported last week, Ecuador, Argentina, and Paraguay all joined us in declaring Cartel de los Soles — Maduro's criminal network — as a Specially Designated Terrorist Organization (SDTO). Guyana also praised these actions, and I've seen other U.S. officials state that other Caribbean leaders welcome this type of pressure on Venezuela.   Since I published my article on Thursday night, more countries are speaking up, including some outside the hemisphere. On Saturday, Norway Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide  released...

 Daily Wire: President Donald Trump quietly signed a directive ordering the Pentagon to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels that the administration has labeled as terrorist organizations, The New York Times reported Friday morning. The order includes an official basis for the United States military to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, and military officials have already begun drafting plans for going after certain groups, the Times reported, citing “people familiar with the conversations.” It was not immediately clear which specific gangs or drug cartels Trump’s new directive greenlights military operations against.   Under Trump, the United States has designated seven drug cartels and two international criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations: Tren de Aragua (TdA), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (CDN), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), ...

  Newsmax: U.S. Circuit Court Judge James Ho criticized the Supreme Court's 7-2 Friday decision to block the Trump administration from deporting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act. In a concurring opinion published Tuesday, Ho wrote that he was sincerely concerned how "the President and other officials have been treated in this case." "I worry that the disrespect they have been shown will not inspire continued respect for the judiciary, without which we cannot long function," he added. As a jab at the high court, Ho pointed to examples of former presidents, such as Barack Obama and Joe Biden, defying the justices' decisions. He cited Obama's public criticism of the Supreme Court during his 2010 State of the Union address, where he knocked its Citizens United ruling. Ho also referenced Biden's reported boast about sidestepping the Supreme Court on student loan forgiveness. ... I agree with Judge How.  In fact,...

 Newsmax: Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued against the intelligence community's assessment on Sunday, stating that the terrorist-designated Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a proxy of Nicolás Maduro's government. The intelligence community are "wrong," Rubio told " Face the Nation 's" Margaret Brennan. "In fact, the FBI agrees with me that they are. We, the FBI, agrees that not only is Tren de Aragua exported by the Venezuelan regime, but in fact, if you go back and see a Tren de Aragua member, all the evidence is there, and it's growing every day, was actually contracted to murder an opposition member, I believe, in Chile a few months ago. "So one of the warnings out there by the FBI is not simply that Tren de Aragua are a terrorist organization, but one that has already been operationalized, to murder ... an opposition member in another country." ... While I am not privy to the information the intel community uses to make the...

 Newsmax: The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported. The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month. The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife. ... President Donald Trump's administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for a total of 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments. The emergency appeal to the high court came the same day a federal judge in Texas ruled illegal the administration's efforts to deport Venezuela...

 Headline USA: DOJ Brings 1st Terrorism Case against Tren de Aragua Gang Member 'TdA is not a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that put down roots in our country during the prior administration...' Many more are likely to be brought as there are already several members already under arrest in the US.   It is looking like an invasion.

 Newsmax: The U.S. Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a victory on Monday by letting him use a 1798 law that historically has been employed only in wartime to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members as part of the Republican president's hardline approach to immigration. The court granted the administration's request to lift Washington-based U.S. Judge James Boasberg's March 15 order that had temporarily blocked the summary deportations under Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act while litigation in the case continues. Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act on March 15 to swiftly deport the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, attempting to speed up removals with a law best known for its use to intern Japanese, Italian and German immigrants during World War Two. In a legal challenge handled by the American Civil Liberties Union, a group of Venezuelan men in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities on the same day sued on behalf of themselves and others...

 DC Daily Journal: In a fiery move to back President Donald Trump’s tough-on-crime agenda, an Arizona congressman dropped a legislative bombshell on Monday aimed at kicking a federal judge off the bench. Rep. Andy Biggs, a steadfast Republican from the Grand Canyon State, introduced a resolution targeting U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who’s been a thorn in the Trump administration’s side by halting deportations of Venezuelan gang members. This isn’t your typical impeachment play—it’s a cunning new tactic that sidesteps the Senate’s pesky two-thirds vote hurdle. Biggs’ resolution accuses Boasberg of “failing to maintain the standard of good behavior required of judges” under Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution. The congressman’s plan hinges on a lesser-known clause that he says gives Congress the muscle to boot judges who step out of line, no impeachment required. It’s a bold jab at a judiciary that Trump supporters see as increasingly hostile to the administration’s go...

 Just the News: Nearly two-thirds of U.S. voters support President Donald Trump's efforts to deport Venezuelan gang members, according to a poll. According to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll , 64% of likely U.S. voters strongly support Venezuelan gang members being deported if they are illegal aliens. Forty-seven percent of the 64% strongly support Trump's efforts. The poll shows that about 26% of voters are opposed to the gang members being deported, and 16% strongly oppose it. ... The story does not indicate why some people oppose the deportation of foreign criminals.  These are all people who should never have been in the US to begin with.   We already have enough criminals in this country and do not need to import more. See also: ICE Has Nearly 50,000 Illegal Migrants in Detention And:   Congress Prepares to Rein In Rogue Judges as Trump Deportation Block Sparks Outrage And:  Trump Fights Back: Supreme Court Showdown Looms Over Deporting Ven...

 DC Daily Journal: ... President Trump fired off a call for an investigation Thursday into how U.S. District Judge James Boasberg keeps landing major cases against his administration, dubbing the odds “statistically impossible.” From his perch on Truth Social, Trump zeroed in on Boasberg, an Obama appointee, who’s now set to oversee four high-stakes lawsuits challenging White House moves. “Boasberg, who is the Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court, seems to be grabbing the ’Trump Cases’ all to himself, even though it is not supposed to happen that way,” Trump wrote. “Is there such a thing as the ‘wheel,’ where the Judges are chosen fairly, and at random?” The latest case pits Boasberg against five Cabinet heavyweights—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, and others—over their use of Signal to plan Yemen strikes. Filed by American Oversight, the suit claims the encrypted chats dodg...

 Newsmax: The Supreme Court will become involved in the dispute over whether President Donald Trump can use the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to expel alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. "We are in modern day warfare," Bondi told Fox News host Maria Baritromo Sunday. "They have invaded our country, TDA, Tren de Aragua. They are organized, they have a command structure. They are sending money to each other throughout the country and out of the country back to support their terrorist actions. It's modern day warfare, and we are going to continue to fight that and protect American citizens every single step of the way." She also labeled Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as an "out-of-control judge" for his examination of the administration's use of the centuries-old wartime law, as well as his push to determine if the administration defied his order to turn ar...