Fact-Checking Trump’s Justifications for the Venezuela Operation
The New York Times••world
Key Points:
- President Trump has justified actions against Venezuela by citing the country's role in drug trafficking, migration, and oil theft, but these claims lack supporting evidence.
- Trump claimed that 97% of drugs coming by sea, mostly from Venezuela, have been stopped through military strikes, but the administration has not provided proof of this or detailed drug interception data.
- Over 30 strikes on vessels off Central and South America were authorized, resulting in over 110 deaths, but it remains unclear if these boats were definitively linked to drug smuggling.
- Government drug seizure figures are often used as enforcement success indicators, but the connection between these seizures and the claimed number of lethal doses or lives saved is not substantiated.
