Rand Paul: 'All of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

10/19/2025 11:14 AM EDT


Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday questioned the wisdom and legality of President Donald Trump’s policies toward Venezuela and suspected drug dealers coming from its coast.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Kentucky Republican again raised concerns about the legality of the Trump administration’s strikes on boats that it claims are carrying drug traffickers, as well as the president’s statement that the United States might conduct direct attacks on Venezuela’s territory.

“When you kill someone, you should know, if you’re not at war, not in a declared war, you really need to know someone’s name at least,” Paul said. “You have to accuse them of something. You have to present evidence. So all of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name, without any evidence of a crime.” He said that given the distance these boats are from the United States, it’s more likely that if there are indeed drug smugglers, they are bringing them to nearby islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, instead of the U.S.

Paul added: “For decades, if not centuries, when you stop people at sea in international waters or in your own waters, you announce that you’re going to board the ship and you’re looking for contraband, smuggling, or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami. But we know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25 percent of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25 percent of the people might be innocent.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/19/rand-paul-venezuela-strikes-00614882