Senator Ruben Gallegos has described the recent U.S. military strikes on Venezuelan vessels as "sanctioned murder," pointing directly to President Donald Trump ’s policies that he alleges led to unnecessary deaths.

"It's murder. It's very simple," the Democratic senator from Arizona told NBC News' Kristen Welker in an interview on Meet the Press Sunday.

"If this president feels that they're [alleged traffickers] doing something illegally, then he should be using the Coast Guard. If it's an act of war, then you use our military, and then you come and talk to us first. But this is murder. It's sanctioned murder that he is doing," he explained.

Why It Matters

Recent boat strikes—carried out under the justification of targeting drug trafficking under the command of Secretary of Defen

See Full Page