In a forceful defense of U.S. foreign policy and national security strategy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio rebuffed criticism from European Union officials this week regarding recent U.S. military strikes on suspected narco-trafficking vessels in international Caribbean waters. Speaking from the G7 Foreign Minister meeting in Niagara, Canada, Rubio made it clear: America doesn’t answer to Brussels when it comes to protecting its citizens from what he labeled narco-terrorists.
The tension began with remarks from E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who questioned the legality of the strikes, suggesting that such actions could only be justified under the principle of self-defense or via a U.N. Security Council resolution. Rubio, unbothered by the diplomatic pushback, fired back with characteristic clarity. “The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the President is responding in the defense of our country,” he said.
“I don’t think the European Union gets to determine what international law is. What they certainly don’t get to determine is how the United States defends its national security. The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere and… pic.twitter.com/vQDDUH2PNb
— Department of State (@StateDept) November 13, 2025
But the Secretary’s response went further — framing the criticism as both hypocritical and disconnected. “I do find it interesting,” he added, “that all of these countries want us to send and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe, but when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere where we live, somehow that’s a problem.” The remark underscored a recurring theme in U.S. foreign policy debates: allies expecting American defense muscle when it suits them — and raising eyebrows when that same muscle is flexed in America’s own backyard.
The United States has ramped up its counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean since September, executing precision strikes on vessels believed to be carrying U.S.-bound narcotics — a campaign the Trump administration says is necessary to stop the flow of drugs into American communities. The CDC has reported nearly 74,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12 months ending April 2025, further fueling the urgency behind the campaign.
‘The Special Relationship Is Dead’: UK Suspends Intelligence Sharing With U.S. over Caribbean Drug Smuggler Strikeshttps://t.co/SCd1RUIXgQ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 12, 2025
Rubio was also quick to dispel reports of diplomatic fallout between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, after CNN published a story suggesting that the UK had suspended intelligence-sharing over the operation. Rubio called the report “false” and “a fake story,” though the UK government declined to confirm or deny its veracity.
Beyond the immediate criticisms, Rubio pointed a spotlight toward Venezuela’s Maduro regime — a government long accused of aiding drug traffickers and under indictment by U.S. courts on narco-terrorism charges. “They [the Maduro regime] allow drugs to be shipped. They openly cooperate with the shipping of these drugs towards the United States and Europe, by the way, so maybe they should be thanking us,” Rubio said, referring to the broader international benefit of the U.S.-led interdiction efforts.
“The Maduro regime is a narco-terrorist regime indicted in the Southern District of the United States for narco-terrorism, but more importantly, they're also a transshipment organization that allows these groups to operate from their national territory.” — @SecRubio pic.twitter.com/RP9sVJcbZk
— Department of State (@StateDept) November 13, 2025
While critics frame the strikes as aggressive, potentially unlawful maneuvers in international waters, Rubio’s stance is unmistakably rooted in a doctrine of national defense. “The President’s ordered it in defense of our country. It continues. It’s ongoing. It can stop tomorrow if they stop sending drug boats,” he said.
