Key Trump Ally Stops Sending Intel Over ‘Illegal’ Boat Strikes

Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic strikes were conducted on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.
These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and… pic.twitter.com/ocUoGzwwDO

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 10, 2025

The latest two attacks, announced on social media by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, took place in the Eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing six people and bringing the total number of known strikes so far to 19.

The administration insists the strikes are lawful because President Trump has “determined” that the United States is in a formal armed conflict with drug cartels.

But legal experts, global leaders and even some Republicans have questioned the legality of bombing suspected civilian cartel members without any attempt to intercept or capture them first.

“We can’t just kill indiscriminately because we are not at war. It’s summary execution!” Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, one of the few Republicans willing to speak out against Trump, warned last month.

The intelligence shared by the UK was typically sent to Joint Interagency Task Force South, which is stationed in Florida to counter transnational criminal organizations.

The task force works in partnership with military and law enforcement units from various Central and South American nations, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Britain is not the only country to raise concerns. In September, Colombian President Gustav Petro, even called for a criminal investigation by the United Nations, likening Trump’s actions to murder.

Tensions escalated last month when Petro claimed that one man who was killed in a boat strike that took place in mid-September was “lifelong fisherman” Alejandro Carranza, whose boat had experienced damage and was adrift.

Trump responded online by declaring Petro, who rose to prominence as a Colombian Senator by exposing links between right-wing paramilitary groups involved in drug trafficking and corrupt politicians, was an “illegal drug leader.”

The U.S. began striking alleged drug boats on September 2, when the first operation killed 11 people, who Trump also claimed were from the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua.

Since then, the strikes have expanded into a broader pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump Administration considers illegitimate.

Trump has denied he is seeking regime change in Venezuela, but has ramped up threats against the country’s president and ordered a massive naval buildup off Venezuela’s coast.

“He doesn’t wanna f— around” with America,” the president said last month in a profanity-laced threat to Maduro.

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