The United States last week carried out another decisive strike on a vessel near Venezuela that the administration says was being used to traffic deadly narcotics toward our shores, an operation that reportedly killed four people aboard and follows several similar actions in recent weeks. This is not theater — it is a direct projection of American power against criminal syndicates that have shown contempt for our laws and the lives of our citizens.
President Trump and Pentagon leaders have framed these strikes as part of a broader campaign against narco-terrorism, arguing that the cartels’ shipments of fentanyl and other poisons constitute an armed threat to the American people and warrant a military response. The administration’s posture recognizes reality: when the cartel trade is treated like garden-variety crime, innocent Americans die; when it is treated like an armed conflict, it can finally be disrupted at the source.
Former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, speaking on American Agenda, nailed the only sensible response — we’re not going to allow continued narcotics to flood our communities and take our children. Wolf’s blunt assessment is what Americans deserve: leadership that understands the crisis at the border and the violence and addiction funneled into our towns, and that will take strong action to stop it.
Of course, the usual chorus of critics in the press and on the left are wringing their hands and whining about “legality” while pretending the lives lost to fentanyl are abstract numbers. Their moral calculus is upside down — they coddle the smugglers and lecture those who choose to stand between the cartels and American families. For every op-ed that laments a tactical strike, there are thousands of grieving families who want a government that will do its job.
Make no mistake: this is also a border security problem that bleeds into every community in America. When cartels ship cocaine and fentanyl across the hemisphere, they aren’t just enraging law enforcement — they’re killing our young and bankrolling violent networks that corrupt governments and terrorize neighborhoods. The administration’s willingness to use military assets where law enforcement cannot reach sends a warning that smugglers will not be allowed to operate with impunity.
To those in Washington who still believe weak-kneed diplomacy and catch-and-release policies will solve this, wake up: the old playbook failed and failed spectacularly. We need a mix of intelligence, interdiction, and deterrence — backed by the political will to follow through — and men and women like Chad Wolf are right to insist that “all options” remain on the table until the flow of poison stops.
Patriots should support a government that protects its people, not one that negotiates with cartels or lets smugglers treat our borders as a free highway. Hold lawmakers accountable, demand robust funding for interdiction and intelligence, and applaud leaders who finally act with the courage to defend American lives. If conservatives stand firm now, we can choke off the supply chain of death and restore security to our streets.
