US ‘Might’ Sinks a Drug Boat

There is no question that a US weapon, likely drone-directed, sunk a boat that had left Venezuela, killing 11 on board in international waters over belief that the craft was loaded with drugs.

Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth crowed about it yesterday as the start of a military-fueled campaign against drug smuggling. Indeed, Hegseth smugly called the incident and a naval buildup manifestation of US military “might” and vowed there is more to follow.

But there were lots of questions that went unanswered about the legality of the sinking rather than, say, its capture, seizure of drugs, and the bringing of charges in a court. The lethal results are a distinct departure from how Coast Guard and others have handled traffickers.

Hegseth said Americans “knew exactly who was in that boat” and “exactly what they were doing,” although he did not offer evidence. Trump later added — in a social media post, apparently the selected platform to describe military actions — that a “kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narco terrorists in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.”

We’re skipping that Secretary of State Mario Rubio had said that they were headed for an unknown destination in the Caribbean, and that Trump has been known to stretch the truth now and again. Maybe it was all legit, but we will never know, and this strike seems the, er, opening gun in militarized policing against drug traffickers with arms-length lethal weapons.

From Hegseth, the only point seemed to be that “President Trump is willing to go on offense in ways that others have not seen.” And from Trump, the main objective was pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who “is running effectively as a kingpin of a drug narco state,” per Hegseth.

Questions Abound

There are a host of global agreements that say international waters are off-limits to attacks. Though the U.S. has not signed some of the, they have served as the justification for US strikes in Yemen to stop Houthi missiles from hitting commercial vessels, for example. Any legal authority for this strike in international waters seems to stem from Trump’s executive order directive in July, which remains secret, instructing the Pentagon to use military force against some Latin American drug cartels that his administration has labeled “terrorist” organizations.

So, the law once again is what Trump says it is. If Hegseth had waited until the boat was in 12 miles of U.S. shorelines, there would be no such question.

But there is also the question of whether drug enforcement is matter of law enforcement — or of war. In the name of American values, Trump and the military just served as investigator and executioner, apparently without ever having to show proof for action. Again, is Trump trampling on American law to save America — in this case from drugs that some Americans choose to use?

We have sent in the military to do a policing job — again.

Mexican authorities are openly concerned that Trump will invade its borders to pursue cartel leaders and has sought to cooperate by arresting and turning over those captured to U.S. authorities — presumably for court hearings and sentencing upon guilty findings, not executions.

Meanwhile, just for reflection, while Hegseth was talking of “might” in sinking a speedboat and Trump was posting on Truth Social, China this week was putting new military weapons and a display of its armed strength on display, with autocrats from Russia, North Korea, Iran watching and taking note, Russia was busily bombing Ukraine, and the Israelis were preparing armed columns once again into Gaza.

Apparently, no questions there either.

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