On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) discussed possible legal action against Raul Castro and said that “Legal accountability is critical. And, by the way, the Trump administration people may think about that as they undertake illegal wars and illegal actions, for example, the double-tap strike on the two individuals, the drug runners who were clinging to a sinking boat.” And “It is possible that Raul Castro undertook criminal activities, not a concept that would be entirely foreign to the occupant of the Oval Office himself.”
Guest host Jim Sciutto asked, “Given that this might be following a Venezuela model here, would you support Castro’s indictment first and removal later, if the administration were to support that?”
Himes answered, “Well, I would say this: Legal accountability is critical. And, by the way, the Trump administration people may think about that as they undertake illegal wars and illegal actions, for example, the double-tap strike on the two individuals, the drug runners who were clinging to a sinking boat. Accountability is important for everybody. We care about justice. And so, in fact, if there’s a case to be made against Raul Castro, let the facts play out. What is not okay is us deciding that we are going to use the military to enforce global laws. That’s not what the military is for. And so, again, the president has talked for a very long time about going after Cuba. It is possible that Raul Castro undertook criminal activities, not a concept that would be entirely foreign to the occupant of the Oval Office himself. But the use of American military force is not okay, and it is certainly not okay when it is not approved by the United States Congress, as the Constitution demands.”
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