President Donald Trump deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Caribbean as part of his ongoing war with what he calls "narco-terrorists" in the country. The bombing of unidentified boats in the waters off the coast of North and South America is entering "war crimes territory," one Pentagon reporter said on Friday.
There have been 10 "known" bombings of boats killing nearly four dozen people, The New York Times reported Friday.
Sending such a ship near Venezuela is an escalation, said the Times' Pentagon reporter Helene Cooper.
"An aircraft carrier is a ginormous projection of American power. We have been sending aircraft carriers to the Middle East, where we had been for 20 years at war. And to turn now and deploy an aircraft carrier, sending the Gerald Ford towards Venezuela is a huge statement of intent with an aircraft carrier, American sailors, American troops, American airmen, Navy fighter pilots are better able to strike targets in Venezuela," she said.
"That's sort of like parking a giant Howitzer on the doorstep of, you know, of Nicolas Maduro," Cooper described. "It's a really big deal. It's going to probably take seven days, seven to 10 days for them to get from Croatia to the Caribbean, the southern Caribbean," Cooper continued.
She noted it was a "massive statement of intent for the Trump administration" without going to Congress to ask for authorization to go to war. Only Congress can declare war. Trump, however, said he has no intention of asking for authorization.
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said on Thursday. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like, dead.”
Cooper said she spoke with a general who told her that after the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity, he may not have to ask Congress for permission.
"And at somepoint, there is a lot of worrythat, you know, that weare verging close now to whatcould be war crimes territory," she continued. "So, there's a lot of worry andthere's almost —several officers I talked totoday — two of them broughtup, 'When is Congress going tostep in and sort of exerciseits own authority?'"
Some Republicans are starting to speak out on the matter, but only two were willing to support a measure ordering a stop to the bombings.