U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) attends a press conference following the U.S. Senate Republicans' weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said on Friday the Trump administration had yet to provide details of its operations against drug cartels and their legal basis they had sought.

U.S. strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have killed dozens of people since early September, raising tension between Washington and Caracas.

In a rare bipartisan action on the strikes, Republican Senator Roger Wicker and Democrat Jack Reed said in a statement hey had not received information sought from the administration about its strategy to fight drug cartels.

Wicker, of Mississippi, is the chairman and Reed, of Rhode Island, is the top Democrat on the committee, which oversees the U.S. military.

The Trump administration insists those targeted were transporting drugs, without providing evidence or publicly explaining the legal justification for the decision to attack the boats rather than stop them and arrest those on board.

President Donald Trump has also ordered a major military buildup in the Caribbean.

Wicker and Reed said they requested "Execute Orders" related to the anti-drug trafficking operations in a September 23 letter. In another letter on October 6, they asked for any written opinion regarding the legal basis for the operations.

The lawmakers said they had not received the requested information by Friday.

Asked for comment, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in an email, "Several of the requested documents were made available to the chairman, ranking member, and their staffs to review yesterday. Additionally, the Department provided its fourth bipartisan briefing on these operations to Senate staff yesterday."

Trump denied on Friday that he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments last week amid growing expectations that Washington may soon expand its operations related to drug-trafficking.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Clarence Fernandez)