President Trump’s recent escalation in the Caribbean and along Venezuela’s coast has the left in a frenzy, but for those who still believe America should defend its borders and its people, this is welcome clarity. What the president calls a campaign against “narcoterrorism” is finally being treated like the national security crisis it is, not a polite policy debate. Retired Staff Sgt. David Bellavia, a Medal of Honor recipient and man who knows what decisive action looks like, told viewers on cable television that this sort of muscular approach is precisely what restores deterrence and keeps Americans safe.
For months the administration has carried out strikes on vessels suspected of ferrying drugs and weapons toward our shores, and in late December the president acknowledged the first known strike on a coastal facility alleged to be used to load narcotics. Critics scream about legality and collateral damage while ignoring the fact that fentanyl and cartel cash are killing Americans every day. This isn’t theater; it’s a strategic effort to choke off the revenues and routes that empower bad actors who operate with impunity under hostile regimes.
Bellavia’s voice matters because he earned the right to be blunt. A soldier who fought in the hardest kind of urban combat, he explained on national TV that “peace through strength” is not a slogan but a doctrine that saves lives. When a Medal of Honor recipient backs an administration’s willingness to use calibrated force to interdict narco-traffickers, it should silence those who pretend moral hand-wringing is an alternative to decisive action.
Left-leaning human rights groups and opportunistic internationalists are already filing complaints and demanding hearings, as if talking will stop the flow of poison across the border. They cheer for procedures while our cities drown in overdoses and our southern communities bear the criminal consequences. Conservatives should not apologize for insisting that the United States protect its citizens first and foremost; defending lives at home is the most basic duty of any sovereign nation.
Some in Washington mutter about Congress and the Constitution as if cautionary essays will rescue the next child from fentanyl. Legitimacy matters, but so does leadership — and the messy work of confronting transnational criminal networks will never be tidy. Lawmakers who ignore the threat or reflexively side with ideological critics should be forced to answer to the American people for choosing the safety of smugglers over the safety of neighborhoods.
The practical results are what will matter: disrupted shipping lanes, reduced cartel income, and fewer deadly shipments making it to U.S. streets. The operation’s defenders include military veterans and security professionals who know that pressure, properly applied, changes behavior and degrades criminal enterprises. If the goal is to make the border safer and to stop the flow of deadly drugs, then striking at the logistics and cash flow of narcoterrorists is a strategy, not a provocation.
This moment is a test of American seriousness. Will we return to the weak, apologetic posture that emboldened traffickers and rogue regimes, or will we stand firm and use every lawful tool to protect our country? Veterans like Bellavia and millions of citizens who value safety and sovereignty know the answer; it’s time for the rest of Washington to catch up.
