Vice President JD Vance does not care if you call him a war criminal—at least not for using the U.S. Military to kill suspected drug dealers abroad.
That’s how the vice president responded to criticism on Saturday when confronted over an American drone strike that killed 11 alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela in the Caribbean this week.
MAGA critic Brian Krassentein called out the VP on X, writing, “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.”
Vance responded, “I don’t give a s--t what you call it.”
The strike on the alleged drug vessel, which President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social on Tuesday, immediately attracted criticism for being an over-the-top response in international waters. Administration officials celebrated it as a blow to the narcotics trade while critics countered that those on board were not given a chance to defend themselves in a court of law.
Vance, 41, is among those who have endorsed the controversial strike.
“Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance posted to X on Saturday. He was referring to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, members of which the administration said were on board the doomed boat.
The VP followed up with a tongue-in-cheek post about the attack: “Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia. Republicans: actually, let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.”
The Department of Defense, which has readopted the nickname “Department of War,” has defended its action in the Caribbean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he has “absolute and complete authority” to kill suspected drug smugglers in “defense of the American people.”
Hegseth has bragged about the drone strike, which was captured on video and shared by the White House. Venezuelan officials have claimed the video is a fake.
“I’d say we smoked a drug boat, and there’s 11 narcoterrorists at the bottom of the ocean,” Hegseth said. “And when other people try to do that, they’re gonna meet the same fate.”
Trump said the attack was carried out on his orders.
He posted to Truth Social, “The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
