The U.S. Southern Command quietly announced another lethal strike on a low-profile vessel in the eastern Pacific on Monday, saying the target was part of a narcotics-smuggling operation and that one person was killed. This is not an isolated incident but another strike in a sustained effort to choke off the poison headed to American streets.
Officials admit this action is part of a wider campaign that began in September and has now featured dozens of strikes across the Caribbean and Pacific, with scores of traffickers eliminated and more operations promised. For those who care about the safety of our communities, this is the kind of decisive enforcement we should applaud rather than second-guess from the safety of a newsroom.
Pentagon and administration spokesmen insist these strikes are targeted, intelligence-driven missions against vessels tied to designated terrorist and narco-terrorist networks, and they argue the rules of engagement comply with international law. That commitment to using military force as a tool in the war on drugs is exactly the boldness our leadership should be showing instead of endless equivocation.
Of course, the usual chorus from human-rights groups and sympathetic international outlets is already at full volume, accusing the U.S. of overreach and demanding paperwork for every bullet fired. Let them scream; the choice here is simple — endless addiction and death on our soil or taking the fight to the traffickers before their poison reaches our kids.
Not surprisingly, Caracas is howling about threats and regime change, while Washington is making clear that those who enable the flow of fentanyl and cocaine will be treated as partners of terror and violence. President Trump and his team have repeatedly linked these operations to pressure on the Maduro regime and made clear the U.S. will not stand idle while cartels and corrupt governments export death.
Patriots should demand two things at once: we should cheer and support aggressive action against the cartels because lives are at stake, and we should insist on sensible transparency so Americans know the operations are lawful and aimed at real threats. We can support our troops and demand accountability without letting left-wing moralizing handcuff the commanders trying to protect our homeland.
Let Democrats lecture from their hobby-horse of procedure while our communities overdose and our southern border remains a sieve. Conservatives know what real security looks like — strong borders, relentless pressure on smugglers, and a government that puts citizens first. If that makes us unpopular in certain coastal salons, so be it; we will keep fighting for the safety of hardworking Americans.
