Trump's «war on drugs» in the Caribbean raises concerns

Over the past few months, the president Donald Trump turned the Caribbean Sea into a theater of war.

His administration has claimed responsibility for numerous military strikes against ships suspected of transporting narcotics from Venezuela, boasting that they had destroyed «narco-terrorist» vessels. These operations, carried out by U.S. Navy aircraft and warships, resulted in at least 32 dead, whose identity has not been revealed and whose alleged crimes have not been proven.

Explosions at Sea, Questions on Land

According to Trump, these attacks are part of a new campaign aimed at to combat drug trafficking and prevent the spread of fentanyl and other narcotics from reaching the U.S. coast. To date, however, the White House has not provided no evidence that the vessels in question were carrying drugs, nor any explanation as to why the U.S. Coast Guard, the agency legally responsible for intercepting traffickers, was bypassed.

For Jim Jones, a Republican and former Idaho Attorney General, this policy is more about showmanship than strategy. «Trump’s repeated assassination attempts in the Caribbean are more a matter of performance art than military necessity,» he wrote in an op-ed published in the’Idaho Capital Sun. He called this policy «stupid,» pointing out that blowing up boats suspected of carrying drugs destroys crucial evidence and deprives investigators of the opportunity to question suspects or trace supply networks. «Dead suspects cannot provide valuable information,» Mr. Jones argued.

Beyond its tactical flaws, Mr. Jones warned that this practice violated the U.S. law, since Congress has not authorized the use of lethal force, and the international law, which restricts military actions against civilians outside of declared war zones.

Undermining the Rule of Law

This controversy has reignited the debate over the civilian control of the military. Shortly after taking office, the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired several senior judges and advocates general (JAG), describing them as ’obstacles« to presidential authority. Legal officers in the armed forces traditionally ensure that military orders comply with national and international laws. Their dismissal, Jones suggested, shows that «Trump had no intention of complying with existing laws.».

Quoting George Washington, Jones quoted the first president’s words on military discipline: «An army without order, regularity, and discipline is no better than a mob with a commission.» In his view, Trump’s actions place the U.S. military in an untenable position, forcing them to carry out potentially illegal orders that could expose them to the court-martial or international legal proceedings.

The repercussions have already begun. The admiral Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command and the officer overseeing operations in the Caribbean, announced a early retirement unexpected. Another senior officer, the Colonel Doug Krugman, resigned, citing Donald Trump's «contempt for the Constitution.».

Fentanyl, Venezuela, and the Geography of Blame

The Trump administration’s justification for these deadly strikes rests largely on a single claim: the Venezuela has reportedly become a major supplier of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid responsible for more than 70,000 overdose deaths in the United States last year. But experts say that’s not true.

As reported Stuart Ramsay, correspondent for Sky News In Latin America, «it is simply incorrect to blame Venezuela for the production of fentanyl.» Mr. Ramsay, who has been covering the Mexican cartels, claims that Fentanyl is synthesized in Mexico from chemical precursors from China, and then routed directly to the United States across the southern border. «Venezuela is not significantly involved in this fentanyl trade,» Mr. Ramsay emphasized.

Venezuela, on the other hand, serves as transit country for the cocaine, much of which is produced in neighboring countries, namely the Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. The boats targeted by the United States in its strikes generally carry cocaine destined not for Florida or Texas, but for Trinidad and Tobago, at the’West Africa and, finally, at the’Europe.

«President Trump claims that these boats are heading for the United States,» Ramsay said, «but in reality, they are mainly headed for Europe.»

This disconnect between rhetoric and geography fuels suspicions that The «war on drugs» could serve as a cover for political or economic objectives. The presence of the’USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, off the coast of Venezuela, has little to do with the fight against drug trafficking—a mission typically carried out by small patrol boats or the coast guard. For many analysts, the real objective seems to be to put pressure on President Nicolás Maduro, whose socialist government remains a longtime adversary of Washington.

A doctrine rooted in the Pentagon

Documents obtained by The Intercept reveal that the Pentagon has long been considering taking a more aggressive role in operations to combat drug trafficking. A report published in 2015 by the’Institute for Defense Analyses, commissioned by the Department of Defense, recommended «direct military action» against the transnational criminal organizations. Based on interviews with 62 convicted drug traffickers, including key figures in the cartels, the study suggested using «kinetic targeting»—military jargon for lethal force—against cartel leaders.

One of the report's authors, the former head of the DEA Joseph Keefe, told The Intercept that this idea had originated during the Iraq War, when U.S. forces began to view insurgents and traffickers as similar «networks of bad guys.» But even Keefe, who had previously supported limited military cooperation, said that the bombing of ships Trump's policies were going too far. «Working together is helpful,» he said, “but not killing everyone.”

His co-author, William Simpkins, a retired former acting administrator of the DEA, went a step further. «Blowing up that first boat was an extrajudicial killing—we have to acknowledge that,» he said. Simpkins pointed out that most of the people on board these vessels are low-level smugglers, not cartel leaders. «Even if they were members of that organization, they were probably not among its most important members.»

Ironically, the same Pentagon report highlighted the corruption, rather than firepower, as the main factor contributing to the global drug trafficking. Nearly all of the traffickers interviewed stated that the bribes paid to the police, politicians, and military officials were essential to the smooth running of their operations. Some even provided details on the rates in effect: $10,000 for information on raids, $100,000 to be notified of an extradition warrant, or millions to buy protection against legal prosecution.

From the War on Drugs to the War on the Law

Trump's push in the Caribbean appears to combine the anti-terrorism rhetoric and regime-change tactics. By describing drug traffickers and even foreign leaders as « drug terrorists », the administration claims broad legal authority to use force without congressional approval.

According to experts, the blurring of the line between crime and terrorism brings in the’impunity in the war on terrorism in the fight against drugs. «Importing drugs into the United States is, in and of itself, an act of terrorism,» Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, following a strike in September. But according to its critics, this line of reasoning turns a matter of law enforcement into a never-ending war, with little impact on the actual drug trade.

Beyond legality and strategy lies a deeper question: Does all of this work? After years of militarized anti-drug operations, from the Colombia to the’Afghanistan, global drug trafficking flows remain largely unchanged. Even former DEA officials who have advised the Pentagon admit that the United States cannot end drug addiction through military force.

«As long as there is demand, the supply will continue to pour in,» Simpkins concluded. «Locking everyone up didn’t solve the problem. Blowing up 11 people on a rickety, dilapidated boat won’t solve it either.»

For Jones, the veteran Republican from Idaho, the issue is simpler. «Maybe it’s time for him to stop breaking the law and start enforcing it,» he writes.

While the explosions in the Caribbean make for «beautiful» images, they reveal a darker truth: the war on drugs The U.S.-led war has once again become a lawless, aimless, and endless conflict.