Few things expose the partisan double standard in Washington like the way the media and Democrats reacted to the Venezuelan drug-boat strikes — until even ABC’s Martha Raddatz began airing details that undercut the hysterical “war-crimes” narrative. Raddatz’s line of questioning on This Week forced Democrats to reckon with facts they’d rather ignore, giving conservative commentators every reason to say: finally, truth has a chance in the national conversation.
This isn’t a hit-and-run; it’s the result of an organized, months-long campaign to stop narco-terrorists who traffic poison into American neighborhoods. Since the first strike on September 2, the Pentagon has carried out a series of kinetic strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling major quantities of narcotics, and the administration insists these operations have saved American lives by disrupting those deadly supply chains.
Of course Democrats and their friendly press screamed when one operation drew scrutiny — namely reports that a follow-up strike killed survivors clinging to wreckage — and The Washington Post flagged an alleged order that has become the centerpiece of liberal fury. Conservatives are right to push back: if the survivors posed an imminent threat or were directly tied to designated terrorist groups, commanders made a hard call under rules shaped by a real threat to our homeland.
Secretary Pete Hegseth has been clear-eyed about the stakes and about protecting operational security; he has declined to release unedited footage to the public while offering classified briefings to congressional oversight committees. That is not evasion, it is prudence — you do not give away intelligence and tactics to cartels and hostile regimes while reporters scream for clicks.
On the ground and in public statements, the administration has framed these strikes as part of a broader, assertive posture to choke off drug networks and back up allied law enforcement, and senior officials have defended the legality and necessity of the operations. It’s no wonder rank-and-file Americans who are tired of seeing their towns flooded with poison and crime respond favorably to leadership that chooses action over moralizing impotence.
The real story here is political cowardice on the left: weaponize a tragic scene for headlines, then refuse to engage the facts when those facts don’t fit the storyline. Conservatives will keep pushing for transparency to Congress and accountability where warranted, but we will not allow the woke outrage machine to hamstring our troops and federal agents while cartels keep shipping death to our shores.
If Washington wants to look like it’s doing something, let it support the men and women stopping the traffickers instead of grandstanding for TV. Demand to see the relevant classified briefings if you’re in Congress, tighten the legal framework so commanders have clear authority, and then get back to protecting Americans — because the only politics that matters to hardworking families is results, not partisan theater.
