logo
episode-header-image
Sep 19
9m 30s

Trump used the military to target a Vene...

NPR
About this episode

A 30 second video clip shows a boat bobbing in the water.

Then, a fireball and a huge plume of smoke.

President Trump posted the footage on social media this week, saying he ordered the U-S military to attack what Trump called “narcoterrorists from Venezuela.”

It’s at least the second time this month that President Trump has ordered this sort of a deadly strike on a boat that he claims carried illegal drugs.

It's an example of the new ways Trump is deploying military force.  The President has used the National Guard in American cities.

Do the strikes on Venezuelan vessels signal a new way of using the military abroad, and is it legal? 


Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Up next
Yesterday
Can progressive mayors save the Democratic Party?
<p class="readrate">New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani built a coalition of voters who were engaged by his charisma and his campaign’s focus on key issues such as affordable transportation, housing and childcare. Mamdani has pointed to Boston mayor Michelle Wu, who was ju ... Show More
16m 3s
Nov 21
Trump moves closer to closing the Education Department
When President Trump nominated Linda McMahon as education secretary, he told her to put herself out of a job. She moved one step closer to that this week when the Trump administration shifted the responsibility of several departments to other federal agencies.<br/><br/><br>NPR's ... Show More
8m 39s
Nov 20
Expensive and exhausting: Why caregivers need to care for themselves, too
Caregiving services for seniors can<a href="https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/long-term-care-costs-options"target="_blank" > </a>easily cost more each year than what the average American makes. And health insurers, both government and private, may not provide ... Show More
10m 20s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 12
Why is Trump deploying forces to US cities? | The Bottom Line
Arguing that some places in the United States – primarily those governed by Democratic officials – are rampantly crime-infested, President Donald Trump has been deploying military forces to cities from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. Former National Security Council official Kori ... Show More
23m 56s
Sep 8
Trump’s new war on drugs
President Donald Trump promised to crack down on illicit drugs. Then, he blew up a Venezuelan vessel in international waters. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh and Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by David Tatasciore ... Show More
26m 18s
Aug 26
Trump: 'I'm Not a Dictator'
President Trump tries to defend the deployment of National Guard troops in US cities, claiming he's "not a dictator" but merely a man with "great common sense." Plus, Trump fires the Federal Reserve governor, but does he have the authority to do that? And the White House wants to ... Show More
45m 26s
May 2025
Trump’s emergency powers grab
President Donald Trump has declared an unprecedented number of national emergencies. He's used them to wage a trade war, deport people, and speed up oil drilling. And more could be coming. This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn and Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Jolie Myers, fact ... Show More
25m 52s
Jan 2025
A Global Wake-Up Call
First: Donald Trump is putting the world on notice by threatening a trade war with Colombia until that country agreed to work with him to deport migrants from the US. His strong arm tactics worked ... but will they next time?  Plus: It's Pete Hegseth's first official day at the ... Show More
41m 7s
Jun 2025
Trump defends strike damage, NATO defense spending, rare new sea & more
President Donald Trump is standing by his statement about the severe damage US strikes did to Iran’s nuclear facilities, despite intelligence saying otherwise. NATO’s chief has praised Trump for forcing members to boost their defense spending. The Trump administration is being or ... Show More
6m 4s
Jun 2025
Federal Judge Rules Trump Illegally Federalized National Guard
President Trump unlawfully federalized thousands of members of California’s National Guard and must return control of the troops to the state, a federal judge ruled. The ruling is a significant win for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier t ... Show More
51m 9s
Sep 25
The U.S. Keeps Killing Venezuelans on Boats. Is That Legal?
<p>The U.S. military has blown up three boats in the Caribbean Sea in the past three weeks, killing 17 people aboard.</p><p>Each time, President Trump has claimed that the boats were carrying drugs to the United States and that those killed were “narcoterrorists.” But he has offe ... Show More
35m 25s
Jan 2025
How Trump ended the TikTok blackout
Donald Trump has brought the social media app TikTok back to life in the United States after an outage lasting less than 24 hours. The platform run by Chinese-owned ByteDance went offline for US users, with the firm saying it acted to comply with a law that banned it unless it so ... Show More
14m 13s
Oct 2019
The Intelligence Agency "Coup" Against Trump Will Ignite Civil War, I hope I am Wrong
The Intelligence Agency "Coup" Against Trump Will Ignite Civil War, I hope I am Wrong. Award Winning Journalist Matt Taibbi recently wrote an article describing what is going on with impeachment, Russia, Ukraine, etc as a "permanent coup." The article is stunning in that he goes ... Show More
1h 44m