A suspected member of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua attempted to run over federal immigration officers in Portland, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
One Border Patrol officer pulled a gun and fired a “defensive shot” at the vehicle. The suspected gang member and his passenger, also suspected of gang ties, sped off.
“At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland,” Homeland Security said. “The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.”
“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene,” the statement continued.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2009427948541993323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
The department released the statement after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-shooting-oregon-5eeffe06106f711b8a17f6072ad9b53d">reports</a> began to circulate that federal immigration agents shot and wounded two people in Portland. It was not immediately clear if the reports and the statement from Homeland Security are related.
The shooting in Portland comes a day after an ICE agent fatally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/violent-agitator-who-tried-to-run-over-ice-agents-in-minneapolis-fatally-shot-by-feds-dhs-says">shot</a> a woman in Minneapolis. The woman had blocked a road with her vehicle. As federal officers exited their vehicles and approached her vehicle, requesting she exit hers, the woman backed up before pulling her car forward. One officer in front of the car then fired a fatal shot at the woman.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the ICE agents’ conduct, calling the incident “an act of domestic terrorism.”
“This is the direct <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minnesota-shooting-comes-amid-record-surge-in-violent-threats-and-assaults-against-ice-agents?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Minnesota+Shooting+Comes+Amid+Record+Surge+In+Violent+Threats+And+Assaults+Against+ICE+Agents">consequence</a> of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement who are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats,” the agency said.
The event sparked mass demonstrations in Minneapolis. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz threatened to call in the National Guard and called for mass protests across the United States against immigration officers.

Border Patrol agent

Suspected Gang Member ‘Weaponized’ Vehicle Against Border Patrol Agents In Portland, DHS Says

Border Patrol

Crime

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Portland

Tren De Aragua

U.S.

Venezuela

White House Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller fired back after a 60 Minutes correspondent accused CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of yanking a story about the Trump administration’s deportation of hundreds of immigrants to CECOT for “political reasons.”
“This is another pathetic 60 Minutes hatchet job. They are trying to tell sob stories about Tren de Aragua gang members who drill holes in people’s hands, who rape and murder little girls?” Miller <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=562966&amp;utm_source=cliplist&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=cliplist20251224&amp;utm_content=story562966">said</a>.
“You actually have somebody, from the outside, new, who’s trying to actually act like an adult over at 60 Minutes and say, ‘Hey, wait a minute, you failed to talk to the administration, you failed to put in any sort of context, whatsoever, for the story, and so she’s decided to pause the story and now there’s an open revolt at 60 Minutes,” Fox News host Charles Hurt said to Miller. “First of all, were you contacted at all about this package, and what do you make of all of it?”
“I don’t remember anybody reaching out to me,” Miller replied. “Of course, as you know people put things at the comms inboxes and general feedback comments, but I don’t remember getting anything.”
“But more fundamentally, this is another pathetic 60 Minutes hatchet job,” he continued. “They are trying to tell sob stories about Tren de Aragua gang members who drill holes in people’s hands, who rape and murder little girls? This is the gang who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered Jocelyn Nungaray. Remember her? That precious 12-year-old girl from Texas who was taken from her mom and went through horrors none of us can imagine?”
“And you have these 60 Minute producers who are living in comfort and security in their West End condos trying to make us feel sympathetic for these monsters?” he asked rhetorically. “Have you seen the tattoos, the face tattoos, the body tattoos on these killers? Would one 60 Minutes producer or writer agree to spend 30 minutes — I’ll make a deal. We will pick one person at random that we sent to CECOT, just a random lottery drawing, and they will spend one day, overnight, in your apartment.”
“Who is taking that deal at 60 Minutes? Nobody, because they know that these are monsters who got exactly what they deserved,” he declared. “Because under President Trump, we are not going to let little girls get raped and murdered anymore. And every one of those producers at 60 Minutes engaged in this revolt, fire them. Clean house, fire them. That’s what I say, Charlie.”
“And yet, somehow, they’re the compassionate ones and you’re the mean ones. But we’re glad you&#8217;re the mean ones and getting the job done,” Hurt concluded.
“I held that story because it was not ready,” Weiss <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/business/media/cbs-news-bari-weiss-60-minutes.html">said</a>, adding that the story had been reported by other news organizations. “The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment in this prison.”
The Daily Wire previously<a href="applewebdata://3CD6EBF5-83C4-49D9-9C71-580D795F3B88/v"> reported</a>:
<blockquote>
Weiss prevented the segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison from airing on Sunday over concerns that the piece lacked important information, such as “the Trump administration’s argument for why it sent 252 Venezuelans to CECOT.” She stated in a memo to CBS News staffers:
Last month, many outlets, most notably The New York Times, exposed the horrific conditions at CECOT. Our story presents more of these powerful testimonies—and putting those accounts into the public record is valuable in and of itself. But if we’re going to run another story about a topic that has by now been much-covered, we need to advance it. Among the ways to do so: does anyone in the administration or anyone prominent who defended the use of the Alien Enemies Act now regret it in light of what these Venezuelans endured at CECOT? That’s a question I’d like to see asked and answered.”
“At present, we do not present the administration’s argument for why it sent 252 Venezuelans to CECOT. What we have is Karoline Leavitt’s soundbite claiming they are evildoers in America (rapists, murderers, etc.). But isn’t there much more to ask in light of the torture that we are revealing?” Weiss asked. “Tom Homan and Stephen Miller don’t tend to be shy. I realize we’ve emailed the DHS spox, but we need to push much harder to get these principals on the record.”
In her third point, Weiss criticized one of the angles of the “60 Minutes” segment, arguing that it focused too much on the illegal immigrants sent to CECOT who do not have criminal histories and not enough on the violent criminals who have been removed from America.
“The data we present paints an incongruent picture. Of the 252 Venezuelans sent to CECOT, we say nearly half have no criminal histories. In other words, more than half do have criminal histories. We should spend a beat explaining this,” Weiss said. “We then say that only 8 of the 252 have been sentenced in America for violent offenses. But what about charged? My point is that we should include as much as we can possibly know and understand about these individuals.”
</blockquote>
Zach Jewell contributed to this story.

President Trump Makes An Announcement In The State Dining Room Of The White House

Stephen Miller Blasts 60 Minutes, Defends Decision To Halt CECOT Segment Over Lack Of Context

Stephen Miller Blasts CBS After Bari Weiss Halts ‘60 Minutes’ CECOT Segment Over Lack of Context

60 Minutes

Bari Weiss

CBS News

Stephen Miller

U.S. forces carried out a tenth strike on a suspected drug boat, killing six Tren de Aragua &#8220;narco-terrorists&#8221; Thursday night in the Caribbean, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.
The &#8220;lethal kinetic strike&#8221; was the first to take place in the dead of night. It comes as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-drug-boat-blown-to-pieces-after-ninth-u-s-strike-on-narco-terrorists?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Another+Drug+Boat+Blown+To+Pieces+After+Ninth+U.S.+Strike+On+%E2%80%98Narco-Terrorists%E2%80%99">Trump</a> administration ramps up a campaign of pressure against the Venezuelan regime over drug trafficking in the region.
&#8220;The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,&#8221; Hegseth wrote on X of the hit, which took place in international waters.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
The vessel was known by our… <a href="https://t.co/lVlw0FLBv4">pic.twitter.com/lVlw0FLBv4</a>
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar/status/1981706596972372446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,&#8221; he added.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible c-link--underline" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, on whom the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placed</a> a $50 million bounty, labeled the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-drug-boat-blown-to-pieces-after-ninth-u-s-strike-on-narco-terrorists?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Another+Drug+Boat+Blown+To+Pieces+After+Ninth+U.S.+Strike+On+%E2%80%98Narco-Terrorists%E2%80%99">strikes</a> as “a military attack on civilians who were not at war and were not militarily threatening any country,” while accusing Trump of “seeking a regime change” in the Latin American country.
Trump has signed off on a covert CIA operation in Venezuela against Maduro, who he believes is complicit in the drug trafficking campaign.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/b-1-bombers-buzz-venezuela-as-trump-floats-land-strikes-against-drug-cartels">B-1 bombers</a> also flew within 50 miles of Venezuela in a massive show of force Thursday.
U.S. Air Force and Marines flew B-52 bombers and F-35B jet fighters last week near an island off the coast of Venezuela in a show of force.
Trump said Thursday that drug trafficking along waterways has plummeted as a result of U.S. military strikes.
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“Now, they’re coming in by land, and even the land is concerned because I told them that’s going to be next,” the president <a href="https://x.com/JewishWarrior13/status/1981470436345938164" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We may go to the Congress and tell them about it, but I can’t imagine they would have any problem with it. I think, in fact, while we’re here, I think it’s a good idea, Pete, you go to Congress, you tell them about it. What are they going to do? Say, ‘gee, we don’t want to stop drugs pouring in?’ They’re killing 300,000 people per year.”
On Wednesday, Maduro claimed that thousands of Russian-made anti-air missiles are at the ready to handle threats.
“Any military force in the world knows the power of the Igla-S and Venezuela has no less than 5,000” of the missiles, Maduro said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/americas/maduro-trump-venezuela-military-intl-hnk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>.
Trump said last week that Maduro desperately offered “everything” to the U.S.
“He’s offered everything,” <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1979251067029246356" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Trump. “You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f*** around with the United States.”
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‘Narco-Terrorists’: U.S. Destroys Tren De Aragua Drug Boat In Caribbean, Hegseth Says

Drug Cartels

Pete Hegseth

A Tren de Aragua gang member who was seen in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-shows-armed-men-walking-through-co-apt-building-after-official-warned-of-venezuelan-gang-takeover">viral video</a> last year, armed and forcing his way into an Aurora, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-immigrant-wanted-in-brutal-colorado-kidnapping-caught-hiding-in-chicago">Colorado</a>, apartment complex taken over by the gang, was handed a 12-year prison sentence.
Niefred Serpa-Acosta was involved in the armed break-in at the Edge at Lowry apartments on Aug. 18, 2024, as well as a brutal kidnapping of a couple at the complex the following December. An Arapahoe County judge sentenced Serpa-Acosta last month after he entered a guilty plea, <a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/man-pleads-guilty-viral-aurora-apartment-video/73-33799e28-2622-4b76-8d03-24128e678741" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to 9 News.
Minutes after the armed gang members stormed the apartments, a fatal shooting took place, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/aurora-crime-involving-venezuelans-police-arrest-warrants-men-shooting-12th-dallas-street/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to CBS Denver</a>.
The Venezuelan gang member, however, successfully fled the scene.
Police in Aurora later captured Serpa-Acosta, who was dressed as a woman and wearing a wig, for his role in the couple&#8217;s kidnapping which the woman was pistol-whipped and the husband was stabbed in the thigh.
He later pleaded guilty to a burglary with intent to menace and assault the people inside the apartment and to using a weapon during the attack, according to 9 News.
<div id="attachment_988903" style="width: 176px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-988903" class="wp-image-988903 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Untitled-design-63-1.jpg" alt="" width="166" height="225" />Mugshot of Niefred Serpa-Acosta (Credit: Aurora Police Department)</div>
When Serpa-Acosta took part in the apartment takeover with five others, he was already ordered deported by an immigration judge, Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire. The Biden administration released him from ICE custody a month before and after he had already racked up two arrests for theft.
It is likely that Serpa-Acosta couldn&#8217;t be deported because the Biden administration was unable to force Venezuela to accept removal flights. Shortly after entering office, the Trump administration brokered a deal with the Maduro regime to resume the flights.
Serpa-Acosta also admitted his gang ties to the feds and had the organization&#8217;s signature tattoos, the sources said.
The illegal immigrant crossed the border into El Paso, Texas, in December 2022 and was set to be turned back to Mexico, but he was eventually released into the U.S.
He was arrested in June 2023 in Lakewood, Colorado, for theft before he was again released. He then turned up in Fort Collins, where he was arrested in April 2024 for another theft.
He was eventually let go again and arrested for a third time for resisting an officer, obstructing police, and larceny in another Denver suburb; ICE then took him into custody.
All the while, officials in Colorado, including Democratic Gov. Jared <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/08/29/us-news/colorado-gov-jared-polis-dismisses-migrant-gang-takeover-of-aurora-apartments-as-imagination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Polis</a>, denied the gang&#8217;s takeover of apartment complexes in Aurora.
While on the campaign trail, President Donald <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/10/11/trump-operation-aurora-targeting-undocumented-criminals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> pledged to carry out &#8220;Operation Aurora&#8221; to target the gang&#8217;s foothold in the Denver suburb. Immigration raids soon took place in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ice-targets-over-100-venezuelan-gang-members-in-raid-at-aurora-colorado-apartment-complex">Colorado</a>, resulting in the arrests of dozens of gang members.

Screenshot: Vicente Arenas – X

Tren De Aragua Member Caught On Video Breaking Into Colorado Apartment Gets 12-Year Prison Sentence

Colorado

illegal immigrant

The sanctuary city of Chicago apparently provided a hiding place for an illegal immigrant who ran from the law in Colorado after a brutal kidnapping.
Venezuelan illegal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/migrant-child-rapist-who-entered-u-s-under-biden-era-scheme-sentenced-to-over-a-decade-behind-bars?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=9&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Migrant+Child+Rapist+Who+Entered+U.S.+Under+Biden-Era+Scheme+Sentenced+To+Over+A+Decade+Behind+Bars">immigrant</a> Jorman Jose Cuba-Zabala allegedly took part in the kidnapping and torture of a migrant couple on December 17, 2024, at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, that was taken over by members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.
The apartments, The Edge at Lowry, were also the site of a viral <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/video-shows-group-of-men-carrying-guns-at-troubled-aurora-apartment-complex/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> where armed Tren de Aragua gang members were seen trying to force their way into units.
Days after the kidnapping, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain <a href="https://www.auroragov.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=16242704&amp;pageId=20618509&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawNaN3xleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF2T2EzejNITmZncGRKbWdUAR7-IRvzYtbxo21H52DTJxW1CtAnHDxHGtdDx8YLCjFFbvYmm8HV0uwpUYZv0Q_aem_wEtaCnRBIeqgFv-hGKajlw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the attack was “100% gang activity.”
But police at the time were still looking for some of the suspects, including Cuba-Zabala.
The Chicago Police Department arrested Cuba-Zabala on April 28 after he was allegedly caught shoplifting two pairs of sunglasses valued at over $800, according to the Aurora Police Department. Officials then extradited him to Colorado earlier this month to face justice in the kidnapping case.
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Roughly a dozen armed suspects took part in forcing the couple into a vacant apartment, where the couple was bound, threatened, and assaulted. Some of the attackers also robbed the apartment, police said.
Cuba-Zabala was the last of the alleged attackers to get nabbed.
He was let into the country under the Biden administration after he crossed the border in June 2023, before he went on to Colorado, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire.
And DHS blamed Chicago’s sanctuary laws for protecting the alleged criminal migrant in the Colorado case.
“It’s no surprise this career criminal chose to flee to sanctuary Chicago, where he knows JB Pritzker will protect him from deportation. Law enforcement extradited him to Aurora, Colorado, to face justice for his heinous crimes,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doubling-down-noem-says-ice-will-open-even-more-facilities-in-chicago?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Doubling+Down%E2%80%99%3A+Noem+Says+ICE+Will+Open+Even+More+Facilities+In+Chicago">Trump</a> administration has focused its efforts to crack down on illegal immigration in Chicago and has sought to deploy hundreds of National Guard soldiers there to restore calm amid a surge in anti-ICE violence. While the deployment remains on pause due to an ongoing lawsuit, ICE and Border Patrol agents are working to arrest illegal immigrants and anti-ICE agitators who are breaking the law.
In one recent raid in the Windy City, hundreds of federal agents descended into an apartment complex that was said to be overrun with Tren de Aragua members, <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/06/dhs-debunks-governor-pritzkers-harmful-lies-about-operation-midway-blitz-chicago" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to DHS.
Cuba-Zabala faces four counts of second-degree kidnapping, four charges of aggravated robbery, two charges of menacing with a deadly weapon, and two charges of extortion in Colorado.
In an effort to arrest and remove Cuba-Zabala as soon as possible, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer with local authorities to ensure he’s not released from custody. Authorities in Colorado, however, are hamstrung by sanctuary laws that prevent them from working with federal immigration agents.

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Illegal Immigrant Wanted In Brutal Colorado Kidnapping Caught Hiding In Chicago

Chicago

illegal immigrants

President Donald Trump has “determined” that the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels that he has designated as terrorist organizations, according to a memo to Congress. 
The memo reportedly sent this week said that the American military remained ready to eliminate drug smugglers and that the country was at a “critical point” requiring the use of force. It comes as the Trump administration has conducted multiple strikes on boats the president said were filled with narcoterrorists bound for the United States.
“The President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States,” the memo <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-determined-us-armed-conflict-cartels-congress-notice-rcna235294">said</a>, according to NBC News. &#8220;In response, based upon the cumulative effects of these hostile acts against the citizens and interests of the United States and friendly foreign nations, the President determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations.&#8221;
Violent gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have all been <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels">designated</a> as foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department. 
The memo <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/02/white-house-war-drug-smugglers-00592369?utm_content=politico/magazine/Politics&amp;utm_source=flipboard">added</a> that the administration remained “postured to carry out military operations as necessary to prevent further deaths or injury to American citizens by eliminating the threat.”
“The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations,” the memo <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cartels-armed-conflict-cb57804807e55a00ace60ad5f4d4f24d">said</a>. 
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Last month, the Trump administration carried out a series of strikes on drug-running boats, the president said. The first, on September 2, targeted a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua that had departed Venezuela loaded with “a lot of drugs,” according to Trump.
Another strike was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blows-up-another-boatful-of-narcoterrorists-we-are-hunting-you">conducted</a> on September 15 that killed three male drug traffickers operating a boat carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, according to the Department of War. 
The Trump administration has said the strikes are necessary to protect the country from dangerous drugs. 
“As we have said many times, the President acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on the memo to Congress.

President Trump Visits Fort Bragg To Honor U.S. Forces

Trump To Congress: U.S. In ‘Armed Conflict’ With ‘Terrorist’ Drug Cartels

Congress

Donald Trump

Executive

Politics

U.S. Military

After news broke in 2015 that an Obama administration drone strike on al Qaeda had inadvertently killed multiple Americans, the former president found himself an unlikely defender: Republican presidential candidate and senator Rand Paul, one of the most outspoken drone critics in the country.
“I do think that there is a valuable use for drones,” Paul <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rand-paul-defends-obama-drone-strikes/">said</a> at the time, in comments that drove the news cycle. “And as much as I’m seen as an opponent of drones, I think in military and warfare, they do have some value.”
Flash forward ten years, and Paul isn’t giving the Trump administration the same courtesy. In response to a U.S. military strike that took out a Venezuelan drug-running boat operated by the terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, the libertarian senator is laying into Vice President JD Vance for his defense of the strike.
After leftist activist Brian Krassenstein said that the strike on the drug smugglers was a “war crime,” Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-give-a-s-vance-goes-viral-with-defense-of-cartel-strike?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘I+Don’t+Give+A+S***’%3A+Vance+Goes+Viral+With+Defense+Of+Cartel+Strike">replied</a> by saying that he didn’t “give a s***” what Krassenstein called it. The comment set off Paul, who said that the suspected terrorist drug dealers didn’t get due process and called the vice president “despicable and thoughtless.”
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-give-a-s-vance-goes-viral-with-defense-of-cartel-strike?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98I+Don%E2%80%99t+Give+A+S***%E2%80%99%3A+Vance+Goes+Viral+With+Defense+Of+Cartel+Strike">‘I Don’t Give A S***’: Vance Goes Viral With Defense Of Cartel Strike</a>
“JD ‘I don’t give a s***’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military,’” Paul wrote on X. “Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation?? What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” centers on the story of a black man falsely accused of rape. 
Vance hasn’t been swayed by Paul’s tirade, with a source close to the vice president calling out Paul for his selective criticism when it comes to drone strikes.
“The Vice President believes in the Trump doctrine and using overwhelming force to protect core American interests and save American lives,” the source close to Vance told The Daily Wire. “That pisses off hypocrites like Rand Paul, who during his failed run for president defended Obama droning American citizens without due process, but now is sticking up for foreign terrorists thanks to his debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Back in April 2015, Paul said regarding the Obama drone strikes that “you really don’t get due process or anything like that if you are in a war zone.” The Obama strikes took out two American operatives of al-Qaeda and an American and a French aid worker who were being held hostage. Obama took responsibility for the deaths, saying that it was the result of an intelligence failure.
“I tend not to want to blame the president for the loss of life here. I think he was trying to do the right thing,” Paul said regarding the strike, in the same interview in which he praised the “valuable use for drones.”
Prior to his defense of Obama, Paul made a name for himself opposing drone attacks. In 2013, he did a 13-hour filibuster in opposition to John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director, where he attacked the Obama administration for not ruling out drone attacks on American citizens. Paul pointed to that filibuster in his response to The Daily Wire, saying that he has been the “foremost critic of drones being used on civilians, especially Americans” during his time in the Senate. 
Paul told The Daily Wire that the recent strike by the Trump administration did not meet his standards. He said that the strike was not part of a “declared war” and was conducted in opposition to Coast Guard rules. He also criticized the fact that the Trump administration has not yet identified the occupants of the boat.
“The recent drone attack on a small speedboat over 2,000 miles from our shore without identification of the occupants or the content of the boat is in no way part of a declared war and defies our longstanding Coast Guard rules of engagement which include: warnings to halt, non-lethal force to capture, and ultimately lethal force in self-defense or in cases of resistance,” he said. 
The recent strike criticized by Paul was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">announced</a> last week by President Donald Trump, who said Tuesday that 11 narcoterrorist members of Tren de Aragua had been killed in international waters as they left Venezuela for the United States. 
“Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance said on Saturday, in the comments that set off Paul. 
The Trump administration has taken increasingly strong action to target Tren de Aragua. 
In February, the violent gang was <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels">designated</a> as a foreign terrorist organization. The State Department said that the group “has conducted kidnappings, extorted businesses, bribed public officials, authorized its members to attack and kill U.S. law enforcement, and assassinated a Venezuelan opposition figure.”
Later, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/invocation-of-the-alien-enemies-act-regarding-the-invasion-of-the-united-states-by-tren-de-aragua/">invoked</a> the Alien Enemies Act to speed up the deportation process for Tren de Aragua members apprehended in the United States. The White House said that the gang had “infiltrated” the country and was conducting “irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions” against America. Trump said that the gang was using narcotics as a weapon to weaken and destabilize the country. 
After the strike last week, taking out the drug boat, Venezuela flew two armed F-16 fighter jets over the USS Jason Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer. The Pentagon said the action was a “highly provocative move” that was “designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations.”

MixCollage-08-Sep-2025-03-56-PM-5518

Veep’s Allies Shoots Back At ‘Hypocrite’ Rand Paul’s Drone Criticism: ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Barack Obama

Drones

Rand Paul

Vice President JD Vance on Saturday bluntly defended the Trump administration&#8217;s recent targeted U.S. Military strike of Tren de Aragua cartel drug smugglers.
&#8220;Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,&#8221; Vance posted to X.
Far-Left social media activist Brian Krassenstein replied to Vance, &#8220;Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t give a s*** what you call it,&#8221; the VP bluntly responded. The response, only posted hours ago, already has over 1.3 million views.
<div id="attachment_969361" style="width: 895px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969361" class="wp-image-969361 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-885x576.png" alt="" width="885" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-885x576.png 885w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-300x195.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-768x500.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM.png 1164w" sizes=" (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px" />Screenshot: X</div>
Vance later doubled-down, mockingly posting, &#8220;Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia. Republicans: actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia.
Republicans: actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1964341366298660905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
This is certainly not the first time Vance has been blunt in his response to Left-wing defenses of apparent criminals. Vance notably went viral back in January when CBS anchor Margaret Brennan tried to argue about when exactly an Afghan national who was plotting a terror attack in the U.S. was radicalized. “I don’t really care, Margaret,” Vance memorably interrupted her argument.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
“I don&#8217;t really care, Margaret.“
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
<a href="https://t.co/qpAKCxDalh">pic.twitter.com/qpAKCxDalh</a>
— Ginny Robinson (@ImGinnyRobinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImGinnyRobinson/status/1883627417744625731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of Americans have suffered synthetic opioid-related deaths. During the open-border Biden era, tens of thousands of pounds of fentanyl were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). It&#8217;s unclear how much fentanyl made it into the U.S. illegally. Trump&#8217;s administration has not only closed the border and started deporting illegals, but they are being proactive with cartel members.
This past week, as referenced by Vance, Trump posted a video of the military strike against Tren de Aragua members in the Caribbean Sea. As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">The Daily Wire</a>, the strike took place in international waters and killed nearly a dozen terrorist cartel members carrying illicit drugs, according to Trump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Drone+Strikes+Cartel+Drug+Boat%2C+Trump+Posts+Video+For+World+To+See%3A+%E2%80%98BEWARE%21%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strikes</a> against drug cartels are only getting started, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said on Wednesday that the Trump administration would no longer rely on stopping drug runners when they arrive on U.S. soil, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blow-them-up-rubio-says-trump-will-direct-more-strikes-against-narco-terrorists">The Daily Wire</a> reported. Instead, the United States will take out cartel members before they reach the country to spread their “poison.”
“Interdiction doesn’t work because these drug cartels — what they do is they know they’re going to lose 2% of their cargo. They bake it into their economics,” Rubio said. “What will stop them is when you blow them up. You get rid of them.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">U.S. Drone Strikes Cartel Drug Boat, Trump Posts Video For World To See: ‘BEWARE!’</a>

US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-VANCE-WALZ

‘I Don’t Give A S***’: Vance Goes Viral With Defense Of Cartel Strike

Fentanyl

JD Vance

Marco Rubio

President Trump Meets Polish President Nawrocki At White House

Democrats Panic As Trump Kills Narco Terrorists And Stops Violent Crime

Opinion

President Trump

White House

President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Drone+Strikes+Cartel+Drug+Boat%2C+Trump+Posts+Video+For+World+To+See%3A+%E2%80%98BEWARE%21%E2%80%99">strikes</a> against drug cartels are only getting started, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said on Wednesday that the Trump administration would no longer rely on stopping drug runners when they arrive on U.S. soil. Instead, the United States will take out cartel members before they reach the country to spread their &#8220;poison.&#8221;
&#8220;Interdiction doesn&#8217;t work because these drug cartels — what they do is they know they&#8217;re going to lose 2% of their cargo. They bake it into their economics,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;What will stop them is when you blow them up. You get rid of them.&#8221;
Rubio made the comments while speaking at a press conference in Mexico as he met with leaders to <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1963007877628756258">discuss</a> &#8220;strengthening cooperation on illegal immigration and countering transnational crime and terrorism in our region.&#8221;
The Secretary of State added that before the United States launched a strike on drug smugglers with the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, U.S. intelligence determined that the drug boat was on its way to the United States.
&#8220;Instead of interdicting it, on the president&#8217;s orders, we blew it up, and it will happen again. Maybe it&#8217;s happening right now, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;But the point is, the president of the United States is going to wage war on narco terrorist organizations. This one was operating in international waters, heading toward the United States to flood our country with poison. And under President Trump, those days are over.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING:
Rubio says interdiction drug cartel boats isn’t enough. What works is to blow them up.
He says the U.S. is now waging war on narco-terrorist organizations and will blow up more such boats 🇺🇸🇻🇪 <a href="https://t.co/Zl4KHfTe18">pic.twitter.com/Zl4KHfTe18</a>
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1963316016630698391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump announced on Tuesday that the &#8220;U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.&#8221; The president also posted a video of the strike, which he said resulted in the deaths of 11 drug smugglers while no U.S. service members were harmed.
&#8220;Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!&#8221; Trump added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last month, Trump ordered U.S. forces to be deployed to the Southern Caribbean Sea — near Venezuela — to take on the drug cartel. Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maduro-accuses-u-s-of-seeking-a-regime-change-after-trump-deploys-military-to-south-caribbean">accused</a> the United States of &#8220;seeking a regime change&#8221; with its latest military movements. Maduro added that Trump&#8217;s decision marked “the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”
Maduro, a socialist who remained in power in an election that appeared to be rigged in his favor, has a $50 million bounty placed on him by the U.S. government, citing his ties to drug cartels.

Secretary Marco Rubio

‘Blow Them Up’: Rubio Says Trump Will Direct More Strikes Against Narco Terrorists

Trump Administration

A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from deporting suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act. 
In a 2-1 <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca5.224134/gov.uscourts.ca5.224134.507678079.1.pdf">decision</a>, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with three illegal immigrants accused of being members of Tren de Aragua. The majority said that the wave of illegal immigrants from Venezuela who have entered the United States in recent years should not be considered an invasion under the terms of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. In March, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/invocation-of-the-alien-enemies-act-regarding-the-invasion-of-the-united-states-by-tren-de-aragua/">invoked</a> the 18th-century law to classify members of Tren de Aragua as alien enemies to be removed under the 227-year-old statute.
“A country’s encouraging its residents and citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States. There is no finding that this mass immigration was an armed, organized force or forces,” wrote Judge Leslie Southwick. 
The case is likely to end up before the Supreme Court.
Judge Andrew Oldham wrote a dissenting opinion criticizing the majority and arguing that federal judges were usurping Trump’s lawful authority. 
“The majority’s approach to this case is not only unprecedented — it is contrary to more than 200 years of precedent. It reflects a view of the Judicial power that is not only muscular — it is herculean. And it reflects a view of the Executive power that is not only diminutive — it is made subservient to the foreign-policy and public-safety hunches of every federal district judge in the country,” Oldham wrote. 
Oldham said that the danger that Tren de Aragua posed to the United States was clear based on their record of kidnappings, murders, rapes, and theft in the country. The Trump appointee also questioned the practicality of allowing judges to hold up the process of declaring an invasion. 
“Does that mean the United States could be beset by a predatory incursion for the entirety of the Trump Administration and that the President would remain powerless to act until given the green light by one or more federal judges?” he wrote. 
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels">classified</a> Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization in February, saying that it “has conducted kidnappings, extorted businesses, bribed public officials, authorized its members to attack and kill U.S. law enforcement, and assassinated a Venezuelan opposition figure.”
On Tuesday, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=U.S.+Drone+Strikes+Cartel+Drug+Boat%2C+Trump+Posts+Video+For+World+To+See%3A+‘BEWARE%21’" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the U.S. military took out a boat leaving Venezuela with 11 members of Tren de Aragua allegedly transporting drugs headed for America. The strike took place in international waters.

White House US President Donald Trump

Court Blocks Trump From Deporting Suspected Venezuelan Gang Members

Courts

Illegal Immigation

Terrorism

President Donald Trump posted a video on Tuesday of a United States military strike against Tren de Aragua drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea.
The strike took place in international waters and killed nearly a dozen terrorist cartel members carrying illicit drugs, Trump said. A video of the strike showed a small boat motoring through water before bursting into flame.
“Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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,” he added. “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!” Trump concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
The president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-deploys-forces-to-take-on-latin-american-drug-cartels-in-the-southern-caribbean">ordered</a> U.S. military assets to the south Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela last month to counter drug cartels, which his administration has classified as foreign terrorist organizations. The president has ratcheted up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who the United States has targeted as a top cartel official.
In August, the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">doubled</a> its bounty on information leading to Maduro’s arrest from $25 million to $50 million.
“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“The DOJ has seized over $700 million of Maduro-linked assets, including two private jets, nine vehicles, and more,” she added. “Yet, Maduro’s reign of terror continues. He is one of the largest narco traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”

U.S. Drone Strikes Cartel Drug Boat, Trump Posts Video For World To See: ‘BEWARE!’

Nicolas Maduro

World

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