By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said on Friday they had asked President Donald Trump’s administration for the legal rationale and other information about operations against drug cartels but had not yet received the information.
U.S. strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats have killed dozens of people in the Caribbean and Pacific since early September, raising tensions between Washington and Caracas.
In a rare bipartisan action related to the strikes, Republican Senator Roger Wicker and Democrat Jack Reed said in a statement that they had not received information requested from the administration about its strategy to fight drug cartels.
Wicker, of Mississippi, is the chairman and Reed, of Rhode Island, is the top Democrat on the committee, which oversees the U.S. military.
The Trump administration insists those targeted were transporting drugs, without providing evidence or publicly explaining the legal justification for the decision to attack the boats rather than stop them and arrest those on board. Trump also has ordered a major military buildup in the Caribbean.
Wicker and Reed said they requested “Execute Orders” related to the anti-drug trafficking operations in a letter dated September 23. And in an October 6 letter, they asked for any written opinion regarding the legal basis for these operations.
The lawmakers said they had not received the requested information by Friday.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Friday denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments from last week amid intensifying expectations that Washington may soon expand drug-trafficking-related operations.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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