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'We're just gonna kill people': Trump says he doesn't need a declaration of war for strikes on suspected drug smugglers

Donald Trump’s statement on Thursday that he has no intention of asking Congress for a declaration of war ahead of possible strikes on suspected drug smugglers in Venezuela, “we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country”, thrilled his supporters but disturbed many Americans.

Asked by a reporter if he intended to go to Congress, Trump suggested that his administration would brief lawmakers on the military operation, but said that he saw no reason to seek congressional authorization.

While Trump supporters posted video of the remarks on social media with a mic-drop emoji, a Democratic party account posted it without comment, apparently certain that the president’s violation of constitutional provision that only Congress can declare war was obvious.“I don’t think we’re gonna necessarily ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re gonna to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead,” the president said.

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The U.S. military launched its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two people in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, marking an expansion of the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America.

The attack Tuesday night was a departure from the seven previous U.S. strikes that had targeted vessels in the Caribbean. Hegseth said on social media that the latest strike killed two people, bringing the death toll to at least 34 from attacks that began last month.

The strike marks an expansion of the military’s targeting area in South American waters as well as a shift to Colombia, where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producer is smuggled. Hegseth’s post also draws a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administration’s crackdown.

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Some of the most decorated military veterans in Congress say they are outraged after a report in the Guardian revealed US military veterans have been arrested or injured amid protests over Donald Trump’s deportation campaign and his push to deploy the national guard to American cities.

“I went to war three times for this country to defend the right of Americans to say things I may not like,” said Representative Jason Crow, a Democrat from Colorado and former army ranger who was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq as a platoon leader with the 82nd airborne division. “Now is the time for every American to speak out.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois who received a Purple Heart after her helicopter was shot down over Iraq, said: “No one – especially those who have already sacrificed so much for this country – should ever be assaulted, detained or thrown in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting government overreach.”

The Guardian has identified eight instances in which military veterans have been prosecuted or sought damages after being detained by federal agents. Two of those individuals were arrested in late September protesting outside a Chicago-area Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility.

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A live artillery shell exploded prematurely during a marines live-fire demonstration that launched over a southern California freeway in celebration of the military branch’s 250th anniversary, raining shrapnel down on a California Highway Patrol vehicle and a motorcycle that was part of JD Vance’s detail, according to a police report.

The New York Times reported that fragments that fell from the 155mm shell landed on vehicles parked on a ramp on Interstate 5 – a major artery through southern California – which governor Gavin Newsom had ordered closed after learning that military officials had no plans to close the freewhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/19/california-marines-explosion-freeway-jd-vanceay.

Vance, a Republican and former enlisted marine who served in Iraq, visited the base in north San Diego county with defense secretary Pete Hegseth to celebrate the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary and watch troops put on a show of amphibious vehicles and marines demonstrating a beach assault.

An officer described hearing something that sounded like pebbles hit his motorcycle and the area around him, according to the patrol report. Others saw a 2in (5cm) piece of shrapnel hit the hood of a patrol vehicle and leave a small dent. The report says shrapnel was also found on the road near the motorcycle.

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A major southern California highway was shut down for a U.S. Marine Corps demonstration on Oct. 18. The event pitted California Gov. Gavin Newsom against the federal government yet again.

Interstate 5 shut down from Harbor Drive to Basilone Road, a stretch of the main artery over 15 miles, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time, according to the California Highway Patrol. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attended the event at Camp Pendleton, commemorating the Marines' 250th anniversary.

The news comes after days of back-and-forth between Gov. Gavin Newsom, federal officials and the Marines over whether the demonstration would require any roads to close.

Standing atop a seven-ton military truck with his wife, Vance watched the largest Marine exercise in a decade on Oct. 18, featuring F-18 and F-35 flyovers, parachute landings, Navy Seals swimming ashore, offshore destroyers and amphibious ships, simulated village explosions, and MH-60 helicopters dropping additional Seals over the water.

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Amid escalating tensions with Venezuela and US military strikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean, the US admiral who commands military forces in Latin America will step down at the end of this year, the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced on social media.

Adm Alvin Holsey’s abrupt departure comes less than a year after he took over as head of the US military’s southern command, which oversees operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The posting typically lasts three years.

A source told Reuters that there had been tension between the four-star commander and Hegseth as well as questions about whether he would be fired in the days leading up to the announcement.

The New York Times reports that an unnamed US official said that Holsey “had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats”.

In a statement shared on social media, Hegseth did not disclose the reason for Holsey’s plan “to retire at year’s end”.

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