Marco Rubio slams EU over international law, backs Trump’s response to ‘narco-terrorist’ threat

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Marco Rubio pushed back strongly against criticism of Donald Trump’s actions, dismissing concerns about international law as irrelevant. Rubio defended Trump’s response to the narco-terrorist threat, saying, “I don’t think the European Union gets to decide what international law is.”

Rubio argued that the United States is facing an assault from “organized, criminal narco-terrorists” operating in the region. He described Trump’s actions as instinctive measures to protect the country from danger.

Critics have said the military operations ordered by Trump and Pete Hegseth against suspected “narco-terrorist” vessels could violate international law. Tensions escalated in late October when Trump indicated he would notify Congress about plans to strike cartel targets inside Venezuela.

Marco Rubio defends Donald Trump’s hardline stance, brushes off international law objections

Rubio forcefully rejected international criticism over the strikes, insisting that the United States has every right to defend itself. “I find it interesting all these countries want us to send nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe. But when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere, where we live, somehow that’s a problem!” he said.

“I don’t think the European Union gets to determine what international law is. They certainly don’t get to determine how the United States defends its national security,” Rubio added.

He emphasized the real threat facing Washington. “The United States is under attack from organized, criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the president is responding in defense of our country,” Rubio said.

“So I would say that the United States and this president have made very clear that his job is to protect the United States from threats, and that is what he’s doing in this operation,” he continued

Donald Trump signals escalation in campaign against Venezuelan narco networks

Trump has warned that land-based strikes could follow after his administration started targeting drug-smuggling vessels off the Caribbean coast of Venezuela in September.

“We’re going to go to Congress. I don’t see any loss in going, no reason not to,” Trump said at a White House event highlighting a federal crackdown that led to about 3,000 arrests of alleged cartel members in the past month

“You know they will always complain, ‘Oh, we should have gone.’ So we’re going to definitely,” he added. “In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many,” Trump said in a call with US service members on Thanksgiving.

“Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore. Have you probably noticed that?” the president said. He noted that traffickers sending their “poisons” into the US, which have killed hundreds of thousands of people each year, have cut sea activity by 85% after recent strikes, according to the New York Post.