Republican condemns Vance for ‘despicable’ comments on Venezuelan boat strike

<p>Rand Paul decries ‘thoughtless’ comment after vice-president defends strike against alleged drug traffickers</p><p>The Republican senator who heads the homeland security committee has criticized JD Vance for “despicable” comments apparently in support of extrajudicial military killings.</p><p>“Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” the vice-president said in an X post on Saturday, in defense of Tuesday’s US military <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/02/trump-venezuela-boat-lethal-strike">strike</a> against a Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean Sea, which killed 11 people the administration alleged were drug traffickers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/07/jd-vance-venezuelan-boat-strike-rand-paul">Continue reading...</a>