Liberals pounce to defend drug cartels after Trump reveals strike on drug-running gang members near Venezuela

President Donald Trump revealed a military strike against drug-runners in a ship from Venezuela in an offhand comment from the White House, but it led to a curious response from his critics.

The president offered few details on the operation to reporters Tuesday but said that he had been briefed on the strike by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

'He's basically the actual devil you can stop playing it safe now.'

Trump later released a video of the strike on a post on Truth Social and said that 11 people had died. He said they were members of the infamous Tren de Aragua criminal gang.

"Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!" Trump said.

The U.S. sent three more warships to the seas near Venezuela in order to combat drug cartel activity that occurred in the prior weeks. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called the actions of the U.S. an "extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral, and absolutely criminal and bloody threat."

On social media, anti-Trump voices pounced to attack the administration and seemingly defend the murderous drug cartels.

"Drug trafficking is a crime, not an act of war. Traffickers must be arrested, not summarily executed, which U.S. forces just illegally did," human rights activist Kenneth Roth responded.

"It's truly insane to me that Trump sent 7 warships and 4,500 troops to Venezuela and just illegally attacked one of their boats and I have barely heard the media and democrats even mention it. What would he have to do to actually get you to fight??? He's basically the actual devil you can stop playing it safe now," left-wing YouTuber Kyle Kulinski replied.

"As with Trump's bombing of Iran, his show of force and possible military assault on Venezuela — a country that poses no threat to the US — is taking place with no congressional input or approval, and next to no public debate. It is pure gangsterism," activist Max Blumenthal responded.

"We’re not at war with Venezuela. And drug trafficking is not a capital crime nor one that merits extrajudicial execution. If the Trump administration had evidence that they were trafficking drugs, the next step was arresting and prosecuting them. Not calling in the military," progressive activist Andrew Wortman said.

RELATED: Trump puts $50 million BOUNTY on the president of Venezuela

At least one major left-wing influencer claimed that Trump was motivated by the desire to distract from a group of Jeffrey Epstein victims who were meeting with members of Congress Wednesday.

"Trump just murdered 11 people on a boat off of Venezuela to distract from the Epstein victims speaking out tomorrow," Brian Krassenstein said. "My guess is an even larger escalation around the time that the victims start speaking in the morning."

There was no larger escalation after the victims spoke in the morning.

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