Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s military operations off the coast of Venezuela, warning that the seizure of multiple oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea could escalate into broader conflict.
Speaking on ABC News’ This Week, Paul called the tanker interdictions “a provocation and a prelude to war,” saying he opposes the use of military force against vessels carrying unarmed individuals suspected of criminal activity.
“I’m not for confiscating these liners. I’m not for blowing up these boats of unarmed people that are suspected of being drug dealers. I’m not for any of this,” Paul told co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Paul also described the administration’s approach to suspected drug traffickers as inconsistent, questioning how enforcement decisions are being made.
He pointed to the case of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, asking why Hernández—who had been sentenced to decades in prison—was released, while others labeled as narco-terrorists face lethal force.
“So some narco-terrorists are really OK, and other narco-terrorists we’re going to blow up,” Paul said. “And then some of them, if they’re not designated as a terrorist, we might arrest them.”
