GOP lawmakers rally behind Trump's Venezuela strikes as critics question legality

By Fox News · Fox News

As U.S. warships strike suspected drug-smuggling boats off Venezuela , critics call the Trump administration’s campaign illegal under international law — a charge supporters dismiss as irrelevant to America’s security. While international law helps create legal, technical or even moral consensus, it is powerless to restrain President Donald Trump’s decision to attack vessels the administration sees as threats to the U.S. Since September, the Trump administration has destroyed several boats off the coast of Venezuela, eliminating what it described as narco-trafficking operations. IS TRUMP’S ‘HEAT’ ON VENEZUELA THE START OF A WIDER CAMPAIGN FOR REGIME CHANGE? Last week, Volker Türk, the United Nations commissioner for human rights, blasted those strikes. "Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the U.S. authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats appear to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law," Türk said. But even if the strikes do violate international law, some U.S. lawmakers don’t believe that should stop the president. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argued the U.S. must prioritize its own security. "We’re not going to subject our sovereignty to international bodies. We’re going to make our decision — what’s in the best interest for the United States," Cornyn said. "[International law] is more of a convention. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures," he added. T RUMP TOUTS ANOTHER US STRIKE NEAR VENEZUELA THAT KILLED SIX ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLERS Over in the House, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., echoed Cornyn's thinking. "President Trump, as Commander in Chief, has an inherent constitutional authority under Article II to defend America’s national security interests and protect American lives. The cartels we are targeting have been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organizat…