U.S. won't kill drug smugglers if their countries cooperate, Rubio says [View all]

QUITO, Ecuador — The Trump administration will continue to identify and kill foreign drug smugglers without the consent of their home countries, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Thursday.

But such actions may not be necessary if the smugglers come from friendly nations that cooperate with the United States, Rubio added.

“For cooperative governments, there’s no need because those governments are going to help us,” the top U.S. diplomat said during a visit to Ecuador’s capital. “They’re going to help us find these people and blow them up, if that’s what it takes.”

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the strike a “murder” and questioned its effectiveness. “We have been capturing civilians transporting drugs for decades without killing them. Those who transport drugs are not the big drug traffickers, but the very poor young people of the Caribbean and the Pacific,” he said.

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