America is on war with drug cartelsThis news should be cause for celebration, but some people are trying to Infamous And derail This effort.
According to opponents, cartel of the suns Doesn’t exist. Killing drug traffickers is a war crime. He argues that the US should give up its regional leadership and adopt ostrich diplomacy.
In this context of retaliation and recrimination, the Trump administration is not conceding or accepting defeat. On the contrary, he is determined to track down, kill and destroy the drug cartels. This is not propaganda; This is a promise fulfilled in real time.
The war against drugs is no easy task, especially in an environment of impunity and flexibility. For example, the Cartel of the Sons, led by Nicolas Maduro, has been in power for 26 years.
in his first termPresident Trump declared Maduro a narco-terrorist and imposed a raft of economic sanctions, recognized a different person as interim president, established a 50-nation coalition and placed a $15 million bounty on the dictator and his associates. Nothing worked.
Trump will once again face Maduro in 2025. His administration has deployed destroyers, nuclear submarines, amphibious ships, drones, F-35 fighter planes and a $50 million prizeThe largest in American history.
This time, America is determined to get the job done. a report of new York Times It is noteworthy that the Trump administration has prepared several military plans to increase tension. Those actions could also include plans to remove Maduro from power.
This war on drugs has just begun, and it’s not like President Richard Nixon public enemy number one Strategy or President Ronald Reagan’s “just say no” Campaign.
Trump sent explanatory document To Congress, arguing that we are already at war. “Based on the cumulative effects of these hostile acts against the citizens and interests of the United States and friendly foreign nations, the President has determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations,” he wrote.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said so “Narco-terrorists are America’s enemies, actively bringing death to our shores… We will hunt them down, kill them, and destroy their networks across our hemisphere.”
Maduro wants to appear strong in the face of the inevitable. HeannouncedThat he “will activate a special plan to guarantee coverage with more than 4.5 million militiamen throughout the national territory, the militias will be ready, active and armed.”
Despite Maduro’s lofty rhetoric, the Chavista regime is alone and in trouble. ChinaAnd Russia has expressed verbal solidarity but given no indication of its willingness to intervene on behalf of its Caribbean ally.
The international community has also done its part to support Venezuelan independence. Last Friday, the Norwegian Nobel CommitteeNobel Peace Prize awarded María Corina Machado, an opposition leader who has dedicated 25 years of her life to fighting against the tyranny of Hugo Chávez and then Nicolás Maduro.
The US military operation in the Caribbean Sea is bearing fruit. The dismantling of drug smuggling vessels is seriously reducing drug trafficking and therefore reducing the revenues of the Cartel of the Sons. The loyalty of the Venezuelan military is breaking and not even Cuban advisors can stop the inevitable.
The America First policy is now an “America First” policy. Trump has Latin America given priority In Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This Administration believes that there can be no free world without a free, prosperous, and secure Western Hemisphere. Foreign policy starts at home.
Global powers cannot and should not give up their authority regional leadershipThe US appears to be committed to guaranteeing a region free from narco-terrorism. Beyond isolated works, we are seeing a new Latin American canon going beyond traditional forms.
In the context of this war, the next 90 days will be critical to breaking the structure of criminal drug trafficking in Venezuela. The list of objectives can be defined in advance and actions can be determined. The Trump administration has said that peace can only be achieved through force and that is what is happening now. The days of the dictator are now numbered.
Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense University’s Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership Course.
