"Don't Give A Sh*t": JD Vance Dismisses Critics After 11 Killed In US Strike

US Vice President JD Vance has defended the United States' deadly airstrike on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, saying he "doesn't give a sh*t" if critics call it a war crime.

"Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military," JD Vance wrote on X on Saturday, a day after the administration confirmed that an airstrike had destroyed a quad-motor watercraft off Venezuela, killing 11 people.

Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 6, 2025

The Donald Trump administration said the vessel was part of the Tren de Aragua gang, which the president recently designated a terrorist organisation. Trump claimed its members were working with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to ship drugs into the US.

Political commentator Brian Krassenstein argued on X that "killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime." Vance replied, "I don't give a sh*t what you call it."

I don't give a shit what you call it

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 6, 2025

International law experts warn the strike may breach the UN Charter, which permits force only in self-defence or with Security Council approval. Critics note there is no evidence the boat posed an imminent threat.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly insisted the strike was "conducted against the operations of a designated terrorist organisation and was taken in defence of vital US national interests," calling it "fully consistent" with international law.

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

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth both said the strike would not be a one-off. "We've got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships, because this is a deadly serious mission for us, and it won't stop with just this strike," Pete Hegseth told Fox News. "Anyone else trafficking in those waters who we know is a designated narco terrorist will face the same fate."

Typically, the US Coast Guard intercepts suspected smuggling boats, seizes contraband and detains crews. On Friday, the Coast Guard said it had seized about 20,000 kg of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean in the past month.

JD Vance, who last year campaigned on using the military against cartels, has long advocated a more aggressive stance. "I think we've got hundreds of thousands of very fine Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen, who are pretty pissed off at the Mexican cartels," he said at one rally. "I think we'll send them in to do battle with the Mexican drug cartels, too."