President Trump has finally done what weak-kneed politicians refused to do for years: hit the cartels where it hurts. Since the administration began ordering maritime strikes in early September 2025, U.S. forces have carried out lethal strikes on suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, striking at the supply lines that flood our streets with poison. Hardworking Americans are tired of empty talk and soft enforcement; showing real, visible force is exactly the kind of deterrent that sends a message to narco-terrorists that the United States will not be a dumping ground for their filth.
Former Governor Asa Hutchinson, speaking on Sunday, rightly acknowledged the shift in strategy while urging clarity of purpose and legal authority for the mission. Hutchinson praised the administration’s willingness to use decisive force against transnational criminal organizations but warned that this is a fundamental change from traditional law-enforcement interdiction to a military approach that demands a defined endgame and congressional oversight. Conservatives should welcome leadership that protects American lives and communities, but we should also insist on a clear plan so this doesn’t morph into endless, unfocused adventurism.
Critics howl about “international law” and demand proof, yet many of those same critics supported policies that left our southern border a sieve and allowed fentanyl to ravage our towns. The administration has publicly said it is treating designated narco-terrorist networks as threats to national security, and the expansion of strikes into the Pacific demonstrates a willingness to follow the enemy wherever they operate to safeguard American lives. Congress and the American people deserve transparency on the legal basis and the facts tying specific vessels to trafficking, but make no mistake: showing strength after years of permissiveness is a breath of fresh air for citizens sick of drug-fueled death.
To those abroad and at home who reflexively condemn any use of force, remember who pays the price of inaction: our children, our families, our neighborhoods. Foreign governments and left-leaning leaders bleat about sovereignty while ignoring how cartel networks exploit failed states and open borders to poison the continent—our response should be firm, lawful, and unrelenting. Republicans in Congress must back a president who is willing to protect the American people, demand the legal justification the rule of law requires, and then stand with him to finish the job of cutting off the cartels’ ability to flood our country with death.
