(MENAFN) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected criticism from the European Union regarding American military strikes on vessels off the Venezuelan coast, insisting that the EU does not have the authority to define international law or dictate how the United States protects its national security.

US forces have targeted at least 20 boats in the Caribbean, claiming they were involved in “narco-terrorism.” Several European NATO countries have questioned the legality of these operations under international norms.

“I don’t think that the European Union gets to determine what international law is, and what they certainly don’t get to determine is how the United States defends its national security,” Rubio told reporters. He added that the same European governments criticizing Washington “want us to send and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe, but when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere where we live, somehow that’s a problem.”

Ukraine has repeatedly requested the deployment of Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles on its territory since at least 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky included them as part of his “victory plan” against Russia. Appeals resumed this year amid stalled US mediation efforts. Moscow has warned that transferring such systems would be a major escalation.

The US military buildup near Venezuela has raised concerns in Caracas about a possible regime-change operation. The Trump administration has labeled President Nicolas Maduro a “cartel leader” lacking legitimacy and has previously supported opposition attempts led by Juan Guaido.

Russia condemned the Caribbean strikes as unlawful. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Washington’s efforts to combat drug trafficking might be better directed at countries such as Belgium, which a local judge recently described as evolving into a “narco-state.”

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