00:00U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday rejected complaints from some allies over the
00:06legality of U.S. strikes in the Caribbean. Rubio was at a G7 foreign minister's meeting in Canada
00:11where talks focused on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but some of the countries present
00:16have raised concerns about U.S. attacks on vessels which the Trump administration says
00:20are carrying drugs. France's foreign minister said Tuesday, the strikes quote,
00:24violate international law and are a worry for nearby French territories. The U.S. military has
00:30hit at least 19 suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and off Latin America's Pacific coasts,
00:36killing at least 76 people. However, before leaving Canada, Rubio told reporters no one
00:41mentioned the strikes to him at the meeting. He defended targeting what he called narco-terrorists,
00:47saying drugs moved from Venezuela to Europe and the U.S. should be thanked. He added that Europe
00:52doesn't get to decide how Washington defends its national security. Rubio also dismissed a CNN
00:57report that Britain stopped sharing drug intel over the strikes. We have very strong partnerships
01:02with the U.K. and other countries. Again, nothing has changed or happened that has impeded in any way
01:07our ability to do what we're doing, nor are we asking anyone to help us with what we're doing
01:11in any realm, and that includes military. The Trump administration says the targeted boats carried
01:16drugs, but has offered no proof or legal reasons for attacks instead of arrests. Washington claims
01:22the strikes comply with UN Charter Article 51 on self-defense. The G7 statement backed fighting
01:28drug trafficking at sea, but did not mention the U.S. campaign. UN experts said last month that even
01:34if drugs were abort, killing without legal basis breaks sea laws and counts as unlawful execution.
01:46you
