Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) on Saturday defended the Trump administration's moves in the Caribbean, suggesting Venezuela is working with Russia to traffic drugs into the U.S.
"One of the biggest concerns I think is, of course, that Venezuela is now a puppet state for Russia, and of course, Russia is at this point involved in the war in Ukraine," the Pennsylvania Republican told NewsNation's Hena Doba, adding that the South American nation is "seemingly willing to fight a proxy war with the United States in the Western Hemisphere."
"It's concerning from that standpoint, "he continued. "We don't really want to be, obviously, in a war with Russia, but at the same time, we have a duty to protect our citizens."
He added that that Russia is using Venezuela to move a "massive amount of fentanyl and drugs" across the border and killing hundreds of thousands of people.
"Those are acts of war and we simply can't just stand for it and hope to interdict it at the border," the lawmaker continued. "They shouldn't be sending them in the first place."
"They need to get the message that America's going to protect its borders," Perry said. "We're not going to allow you to do this kind of stuff and we're going to do something about it."
The conversation comes just days after the U.S. military conducted a strike in the Caribbean on what it labeled a "drug vessel." President Trump said Tuesday that the effort killed 11 members of Tren de Aragua, a group from Venezuela designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a day later issued a warning to other drug cartels following the strike.
"We’ve got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships, because this is a deadly serious mission for us, and it won’t, it won’t stop with just this strike," he told Fox & Friends on Wednesday. "Anyone else trafficking in those waters who we know is a designated narco-terrorist will face the same fate, and it’s important for the American people to protect our homeland and protect our hemisphere."
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded by saying his nation was at “maximum preparedness" to defend its people against what he called "an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat."
The Pentagon on Thursday said it spotted two Venezuelan aircraft flying close to a U.S. Navy vessel. Officials called the action a “highly provocative move.” The Trump administration announced later that day that it would deploy 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to help combat the drug cartels.
“The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military,” officials wrote.
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González Colón (R) has welcomed the increased military presence.
Source: The Hill - News
