With the Strike on a "Drug-Carrying Boat," Trump Returns to a Dangerous US Policy for Latin America

"On September 2, President Donald Trump announced from the Oval Office that the US Navy had carried out an air strike on a boat in international waters allegedly carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela. "Over the last few minutes, [we] literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat," Trump told reporters. He later posted on Truth Social a video of the alleged air strike."

"If Trump's account of the attack on the vessel is accurate, it marks the first time the United States has launched a unilateral air strike or carried out a deadly military operation on its own in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama. The Caribbean strike and Trump's boasting about it indicates an extremely dangerous shift in a US foreign and military policy toward Latin America, which has stood for more than 35 years."

"During the last few decades, the United States has backed coups d'état and supported other countries' military operations, especially in regard to battling drug trafficking. Through Plan Colombia, the United States provided military aid and assistance to Colombia for years to help the country battle drug trafficking. US Special Forces assisted the Mexican military's capture of El Chapo. And the Drug Enforcement Administration has often collaborated with local forces, including in a deadly attack on civilians in Honduras in 2012."

On September 2, the US Navy carried out an airstrike on a boat in international waters near Venezuela that was allegedly carrying drugs. President Donald Trump announced the strike from the Oval Office and posted a video on Truth Social labeled "unclassified" showing a missile hitting the vessel and an explosion. The White House said 11 "narcoterrorists" were killed and Trump warned "There's more where that came from." If accurate, the operation would be the first unilateral US deadly military action in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. The strike signals a major shift after more than 35 years of US restraint.

Read at The Nation