PATROLLING THE CARIBBEAN
The US on 9/2/25 attacked a speedboat in international waters, allegedly from Venezuela and allegedly carrying drug traffickers and drugs. Eleven were killed. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary has called the government of Venezuela “a narco-terror cartel”. The US has sent Navy and Marine units to the Caribbean, including a total of 4,500 sailors and 2,200 marines. Where will all this end?
What proof have we seen that the vessel attacked by the US held drugs and drug traffickers? The former policy was to board and search ships suspected of smuggling drugs in international waters. That policy has been changed, and the US is promising more strikes.
Many in the US will approve the new policy, due to what they consider the out-of-control drug market in the US. Nothing is being done about the demand side of the market: the emphasis has been on attacking suppliers. A supine US Congress and a near-total ignorance about Latin America among the US population has opened the door to US
aggression.
Source: The New York Times,9/5 & 7/25