In the six attacks on similar vessels launched by Trump, this is the first where any survivors have been reported
The US has seized survivors of a military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the first since Donald Trump began launching deadly attacks in the region last month, according to officials in Washington.
Trump later confirmed the attack, telling reporters that the targeted vessel was a narco-submarine.
Continue reading...It is unknown whether US military rendered aid to survivors after attack on suspected ‘narcoterrorist’ vessel
The US military carried out a new strike on Thursday against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, and in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew, a US official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer additional details about the incident, which has not been previously reported. But it raises new questions, including whether the US military rendered aid to the survivors and whether they are now in US military custody.
Continue reading...Vice-president calls crime ‘out of control’ in US cities as Trump faces legal battles for use of federal forces
The White House is talking about invoking the Insurrection Act that would allow the deployment of military troops on US soil to quell domestic unrest amid legal challenges over the moves, JD Vance confirmed on Sunday.
Vance was asked on NBC News’s Meet the Press whether Donald Trump was seriously considering invoking the emergency power to deploy national guard forces and even the US military in domestic settings.
Continue reading...Troops can stay under federal control, as US senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth decry being barred access to Ice facility
The national guard troops Donald Trump sent to Illinois can remain in the state and under federal control but can’t be deployed, an appeals court ruled on Saturday.
The appeals court granted a pause in the case until it can hear further arguments.
Continue reading...President claims he found a way to pay troops and directed Pentagon chief to release funds on 15 October
Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that he had found a way to pay US military troops despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, saying he had instructed his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, to release funds.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “I am using my authority, as commander-in-chief, to direct our secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our troops PAID on October 15.”
Continue reading...Police chief calls explosion near Bucksnort, south-west of Nashville, ‘devastating’ and says ‘we have some deceased’
Nineteen people are missing and feared dead following a huge explosion at a military munitions plant in Tennessee.
The powerful blast ripped through the explosives manufacturing plant in rural Tennessee on Friday morning, rattling homes miles away and bringing emergency services to the scene, authorities and residents said.
Continue reading...First vote in Congress on military campaign that White House says has hit four vessels and killed at least 21 people
Senate Republicans voted down legislation Wednesday that would have put a check on Donald Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels after Democrats tried to counter the administration’s extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers to destroy vessels in the Caribbean.
The vote fell mostly along party lines, 48-51, with two Republicans, Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski, voting in favor and the Democrat John Fetterman voting against.
Continue reading...President said US would turn attention to drug trafficking happening on land during speech at navy ceremony
US forces on Saturday evening struck another vessel illegally carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela, Donald Trump said on Sunday to thousands of sailors at a ceremony celebrating the US navy’s 250th anniversary. He added that the US would also start looking at drug trafficking happening on land.
Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, next to the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced on Friday by defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
Continue reading...Anthony Salisbury displayed chat about deployment of 82nd airborne division on cell phone while in Minnesota
A senior White House official accidentally leaked details of plans to send an elite army unit to Portland, in the latest intelligence leak by the Trump administration.
Anthony Salisbury, a top deputy to Stephen Miller, the influential White House policy adviser, was observed using Signal in a public place to discuss a plan to deploy the army’s 82nd airborne division to Portland, the Democratic-run Oregon city which Donald Trump has repeatedly castigated as being “war-ravaged”.
Continue reading...Pentagon chief says strike – fourth by US military in recent weeks – targeted boat with ‘substantial amounts’ of drugs
The United States carried out a strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Friday that killed four people, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said, a day after the Trump administration told Congress it was entering a new “non-international armed conflict” with cartels.
The strike, which Hegseth said he directed on Donald Trump’s orders, appears to be at least the fourth in recent weeks. Hegseth gave few details about the boat or the evidence that it was carrying narcotics, other than saying the US had confirmed it was carrying drugs.
Continue reading...Text appears meant to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders
Donald Trump has signed an executive order vowing to use all measures including US military action to defend the energy-rich nation of Qatar – though it remains unclear just what weight the pledge will carry.
The text of the order, available Wednesday on the White House’s website but dated Monday, appears to be another measure by Trump to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders as they weighed accepting a ceasefire with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading...Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals and admirals to Virginia to meet and receive address on ‘warrior ethos’
US military officials are reportedly bracing for possible firings or demotions after the Trump administration’s Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, abruptly summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to attend a gathering in Virginia in the upcoming days.
The event, scheduled for Tuesday at Marine Corps University in Quantico, is expected to feature a short address by Hegseth focused on military standards and the “warrior ethos”, according to the Washington Post.
Continue reading...If they don’t agree to limits, including restricting movement within building, Pentagon press passes will be revoked
The US military has issued new media restrictions demanding that journalists pledge not to gather any information – including unclassified documents – that has not been authorized for release or else risk revocation of their press passes.
In a memo issued Thursday, the Pentagon stated that “it remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust”. However, using an abbreviation for the recently rebranded Department of War headed by the Trump administration’s Pete Hegseth, the memo added: “DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”
Continue reading...Documents show intent to deploy 1,000 troops to conduct law enforcement operations in urban centers
Donald Trump’s administration has drafted a proposal to deploy 1,000 Louisiana national guard troops to conduct law enforcement operations in the state’s urban centers, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing military planning documents it had obtained.
Trump has made crime a major focus of his administration even as violent crime rates have fallen in many US cities. His crackdown on Democratic-led municipalities has fueled legal concerns and spurred protests, including a recent demonstration by several thousand people in Washington DC.
Continue reading...US president applauded West Point alumni for abruptly calling off a ceremony honoring the actor
Donald Trump launched a vitriolic attack against Tom Hanks for supposedly being “destructive” and “woke” after one of America’s most beloved actors was snubbed without much explanation by West Point last week.
On his social media site on Monday, the US president applauded the alumni association of the US Military Academy (or West Point) for abruptly calling off a ceremony honoring Hanks, twice an Academy award winner who has played numerous military characters and also has a long history of advocating for veterans.
Continue reading...Sources say Prince, whose firm’s contractors committed 2007 Iraq massacre, eager to get into valuable drone sector
Amid reports that Donald Trump’s administration is considering using US private military contractors in a postwar Ukraine, multiple sources tell the Guardian one high-profile and controversial American from the “war on terror” era is already circling for business.
In the streets of Kyiv, military hawks and defense privateers have described how Erik Prince, Maga disciple and founder of the now-defunct mercenary company Blackwater, has been aggressively pitching his services and looking to buy.
Continue reading...Little known about decision, although Hanks, who has advocated for military memorials, also voted for Biden
In Forrest Gump, the title character, played by Tom Hanks, receives the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B Johnson.
In real life, it appears Hanks will no longer receive another military honor.
Continue reading...Move comes after accusing Venezuela of buzzing US warship and a deadly US missile strike in Caribbean Sea
Donald Trump is sending 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to bolster US military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean region, it was reported on Friday.
If follows a deadly US missile strike on Tuesday on a boat in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration insisted was carrying 11 Venezuelan drug traffickers, and comments by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Wednesday that such attacks “will happen again”.
Continue reading...New York Times says Trump authorized mission to plant listening device; team killed fishers they encountered
US Navy Seals shot and killed a number of North Korean civilians during a botched covert mission to plant a listening device in the nuclear-armed country during high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in 2019, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Citing unidentified sources, including current and former military officials with knowledge of the still-classified details, the newspaper said Donald Trump approved the operation during his first administration, as he was involved in historic talks with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
Continue reading...California governor condemns decision to deploy troops in response to anti-Ice protests as ‘waste, fraud and abuse’
Donald Trump’s deployment of the national guard in Los Angeles in response to protests in the city over immigration raids cost taxpayers nearly $120m, the California governor’s office said on Thursday.
The US president sent 2,000 national guard troops into the city in June amid clashes between federal immigration agents and protesters. This week a judge ruled that dispatching the military to accompany authorities on immigration enforcement operations violated federal law.
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