Democrats reveal whether they believe US citizens or drug boat traffickers are more important
As scrutiny mounts on the Trump administration's use of force in its targeting of suspected cartel members in the Caribbean, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were asked whether they believe U.S....
By Fox News · Fox News
As scrutiny mounts on the Trump administration's use of force in its targeting of suspected cartel members in the Caribbean, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were asked whether they believe U.S. citizen victims or drug traffickers are more important. Republicans, such as Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said the answer is easy. "I can't speak for anybody else, but my top concern is American citizens, their lives, their health. So, for me, it's an easy choice. Kill drug dealers, save Americans," said Sheehy. Democrats , however, had less black and white opinions on the strikes. "Look, I fully support doing whatever we can within the legal means to make sure that we're stopping drug trafficking," said Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., adding, "We should absolutely be concerned about the victims of drug trafficking and people who have lost their lives to drug violence." SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO HALT MILITARY ACTION, DRUG BOAT STRIKES IN THE CARIBBEAN "We support all efforts to [interdict], arrest, hold people accountable who are trying to smuggle drugs into this country. However, we have a rule of law, and we have rules of engagement for a reason. And so, we need to make sure that we have full transparency in terms of how these strikes are happening," Olszewski went on. He added that "if the reporting is true, it's very likely" that the administration's drug boat strikes are "in violation of our laws and may in fact be a war crime." "So, it merits full investigation; it merits the details being released. And you know, again, I fully support doing all that we can to stop drug trafficking, but that means that we have to make sure that we're doing it within the rule of law and the rules that we have in this country." Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., pushed back on the question, saying, "Is this going to do anything to truly help them?" "Cocaine's still flowing, the demand is still there," Smith said, adding, "You see a drug dealer on the street, that's a bad person. That per…