'What will stop them is when you blow them up': Rubio sends message to cartels

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters this week that the Trump administration could have simply stopped the boat with Tren de Aragua gang members that was carrying illegal drugs from Venezuela to the United States, but President Donald Trump made the decision that the vessel would be blown up. It is likely to occur again if the drug traffickers continue, Rubio warned.

“Instead of interdicting it, on the president’s orders, we blew it up — and it’ll happen again,” Rubio told reporters in Mexico City. The boat, which the administration said was carrying 11 "Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists" as well as a payload. The drug on the vessel was not confirmed, but the region exports a large amount of cocaine.

The precision strike on the boat was conducted with a missile in international waters. “The president has a right to eliminate immediate threats to the United States,” Rubio added. “This president is not a talker; he’s a doer — he’s going to do it.”

Rubio said that the strike is a much more effective way to stop the drug cartels than intercepting drug traffickers and cited that cartels factor in a 2 percent loss from such interdictions. “What will stop them is when you blow them up,” Rubio added. “The president is going to wage war on narco-terrorist organizations.”

Footage of the missile striking the Tren de Aragua gang members and drug traffickers was released by the president on Truth Social, appearing to send a message to others planning to make the trip.

Trump said at the time, "Earlier this morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere. 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! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!"

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated that the strike was “conducted against the operations of a designated terrorist organization and was taken in defense of vital U.S. national interests and in the collective self-defense of other nations."