Drug Boat Attacks - Security or Murder?

The Trump administration continues to commit deadly strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats off the coasts of South America, specifically Venezuela. The few survivors who managed to return back to their home countries have raised questions as to whether the US has any strong evidence that the vessels were transporting drugs. The boats are so wrecked after the strikes, any evidence they carried such cargo vanishes into the sea.

Trump administration officials say the strikes are part of a sweeping counter-narcotics operation. Various officials, including Pentagon Chief, Pete Hegseth, have stated U.S. intelligence determined that the boats carried drugs, and that the passengers on them were parties to criminal trafficking.

My question is: so what? Since when do we just attack and kill alleged drug dealers, without discretion, and without arrest and due process?

As of this writing, the Defense Department has provided zero evidence. Some lawmakers, even Republicans, say that these strikes are illegal. I would agree. However, Trump administration officials have opted to withhold details. Why? Since when does something such as illegal drugs require secrecy? Drugs are generally consumed voluntarily while generally posing little to no threat others, barring violent acts while under the influence.

According to Hegseth, “One thing that's been highly misconstrued here is that in some way we don't know precisely who we're striking and why. We know how to map networks and hunt enemies of our country, and in this case, that's what's happening." What a load of manure - to put it politely.

Enemies generally are defined as those who want to execute devastating attacks on national security or commit mass murder - not a group of dealers providing an illicit product to the small minority of persons who want to escape reality via brain-altering chemicals.

Many of the targeted boats departed from Venezuela, and the strikes appear to be tied to a campaign to force President Nicolás Maduro from power. If this is the case, can we just admit it? Can we simply admit that the US, like always, has an administration that can’t mind its own business rather than adopt a policy of non-interference? At least 61 people have been killed by the strikes off the coasts of South America. For those who manage to survive, they must wonder, “If the U.S. had enough evidence to attack their boat, why wasn't that evidence sufficient to try them in an American court?”

We are a nation that supposedly believes in “innocent until proven guilty”. Trial by jury is enshrined in our Constitution. However, attacks on boats sailing in foreign waters, without no declaration of war, not only denies those rights to the accused, it becomes an act of murder at best, and at worst, an act war in itself. Is the Trump administration trying to start a war with Venezuela via provocation? It’s a question we all should be asking, because it certainly seems to be the case.

Source used: USA Today