President Donald Trump is justifying the lethal U.S. military strike that his administration says was carried out a day earlier against a Venezuelan gang as an effort by the United States to send a clear message to Latin American cartels. Trump was asked at the White House on Wednesday why the military didn't instead interdict the vessel and capture those on board. He said the operation would cause drug smugglers to think twice about trying to move drugs into the U.S. Tuesday’s strike was an astonishing departure from typical U.S. drug interdiction efforts at a time when Trump has ordered a major Navy buildup in the waters near Venezuela.