Overview
- Oliver’s segment spotlights a U.S. campaign that has destroyed at least ten boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, leaving at least 43 people dead.
- The administration has not released public evidence that the targeted vessels were cartel-operated or carrying large quantities of drugs.
- Trump has suggested he would order land strikes in Venezuela without seeking a war declaration from Congress, saying he plans to kill suspected traffickers.
- International-law specialists and some lawmakers question the legal basis, with former State Department adviser Brian Finucane calling the killings extrajudicial and Sen. Rand Paul voicing opposition.
- Oliver frames the strikes alongside Trump’s ordered demolition of the White House East Wing for a privately funded ballroom and other controversies as signs of eroding checks on presidential power.