At Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mounted a vigorous defense of the administration’s recent military operations against groups it has formally labeled as “narco-terrorist” organizations. She opened with a direct assertion that both President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth acted fully within the legal boundaries granted to them.
Leavitt began her remarks with a prepared statement, stressing that under U.S. and international law, organizations designated as narco-terrorist networks can be targeted with lethal force. She said that both Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly stated that when drug-smuggling operations threaten Americans or U.S. interests, the government not only has the authority but the obligation to respond decisively.
A significant portion of the briefing centered on the September 2 operation that destroyed a vessel operating in international waters. Leavitt explained that Hegseth had delegated tactical control to Adm. Mitch Bradley, the commander of Special Operations Command, who executed the strike in line with legal and military protocols. “Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law,” she said, noting that the attack neutralized the target and “eliminated the threat to the United States of America.”
She argued that the administration’s approach is a direct answer to unprecedented levels of illicit drugs streaming toward the country. Pointing to what she described as disastrous fentanyl trafficking during the previous administration, Leavitt framed the current strategy — involving rapid and forceful military intervention — as both lawful and necessary.
Leavitt said Americans broadly back the administration’s tough stance on narcotics and national security. “It’s one of the many reasons the American public reelected this president,” she told reporters, linking public support to Trump’s uncompromising posture against cartels and smugglers.
During the question-and-answer session, Leavitt pushed back against media claims that Hegseth had issued an indiscriminate directive that “everyone be killed.” She dismissed the report but reiterated the administration’s core policy: lethal force remains authorized against individuals actively engaged in drug-trafficking activities that endanger Americans. “The president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists are trafficking drugs toward the United States, he has the authority to kill them,” she said.
{Matzav.com}
