Queens Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is pressing the Trump administration to explain the legal grounds for a recent U.S. military strike in the Caribbean that left 11 people dead.
In a statement Tuesday, Sept. 9, Meeks said the administration has offered “shifting narratives, contradictory facts, and an utter failure” to justify the operation. More than a week later, he noted, the committee — which holds jurisdiction over such matters — has yet to be briefed.
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“We are a nation of laws, not of one man’s whims,” Meeks declared. “Donald Trump does not have the authority to order strikes in international waters. Only Congress has the constitutional power to declare war or authorize military force. This strike appears unlawful under both U.S. and international law.”
Meeks demanded the release of intelligence that allegedly justified the killing of 11 people on board the targeted vessel, warning that unchecked unilateral actions mirror the very authoritarian behavior Washington claims to oppose. “The American people deserve the truth,” he added.
The strike came amid a heightened U.S. military build-up in the southern Caribbean, ordered by President Trump under the banner of counter-narcotics operations. Trump publicly claimed the vessel belonged to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal syndicate he has linked to President Nicolás Maduro, and insisted the boat was carrying “massive amounts of drugs.”
“You see the bags of drugs all over the boat — and they were hit,” Trump said during remarks at the White House. “Obviously, they won’t be doing it again.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed the president’s account, saying U.S. forces had precise intelligence on the vessel and its crew. “Anyone else trafficking in those waters who we know is a deadly terrorist will face the same fate,” he warned.
The escalation has sparked regional ripples. On Sept. 8, the State Department confirmed that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau had spoken with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, praising her public support for U.S. military actions and reaffirming bilateral cooperation on drug and arms interdiction. Persad-Bissessar has gone further, openly applauding the strike and declaring she has “no sympathy” for traffickers, even suggesting U.S. forces should “kill them all violently.”
Her remarks drew backlash across the Caribbean, even as Washington framed them as evidence of strong partnership.
For Meeks, however, the broader concern is the lack of accountability. “With both the United States and Venezuela taking further escalatory steps, it is time for Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace,” he said. “We cannot allow Donald Trump to unilaterally drag us into a war that we have not authorized.”
