Libertarian Party Condemns U.S. Strike on Venezuelan Vessel as “Extrajudicial Violence”

The Libertarian Party condemned a U.S. military strike on a Venezuelan vessel that President Donald Trump said was linked to narcotics trafficking and terrorism, calling the action “a dangerous escalation of unchecked executive power.”

In a September 3 post on X, the party said labeling people as “narco-terrorists” and killing them without trial or congressional authorization amounted to “extrajudicial violence that undermines the rule of law.”

“As Libertarians, we condemn this normalization of government power to kill first and justify later,” the party stated. “Due process is not optional. America must not drift further into a policy of unaccountable violence abroad or at home.”

Libertarian National Committee Chair Steven Nekhaila expanded on the party’s remarks in a separate post on his personal X account. He called the strike “a troubling escalation in executive power, sidestepping law enforcement and due process in favor of lethal force,” and contrasted it with decades of U.S. Coast Guard drug interdiction practices that he said prioritized arrest and judicial proceedings.

“Armed force at sea is limited to self‑defense situations,” Nekhaila wrote. “Here, suspicion alone brought a missile.”

Nekhaila warned that such actions risked normalizing “extrajudicial killings under the rubric of national security” and granting the executive branch “the power to kill first and ask questions later.” He urged “rigorous public accounting, judicial review, and congressional oversight, before the next missile is fired.”

The comments came a day after Trump announced on Truth Social that he had ordered a “kinetic strike” against what he described as “positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists” in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. According to Trump, the group is a designated foreign terrorist organization operating under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s control and engaged in mass murder, drug trafficking and other crimes.

Trump said the strike occurred in international waters while the vessel was transporting illegal narcotics toward the United States, resulting in 11 deaths. He added that no U.S. personnel were harmed. The president also posted unclassified black-and-white footage of the incident, showing a speedboat at sea followed by a flash and fire.

The Venezuelan government has not confirmed the identities of those killed. Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez questioned the authenticity of the video, suggesting it may have been artificially generated, while Maduro accused Washington of seeking Venezuela’s natural resources.