Drug Boat Strikes: The Transnational Security Implications of the Trump Administration’s Crackdown on Drug Trafficking
Image Description: A U.S. military helicopter transports troops in the Caribbean in early September. The reorientation of U.S. military presence to the Western Hemisphere as part of President Trump’s efforts to halt drug trafficking embodies the military-first posture the administration has been using to promote its vision of regional security.
Photo Credit: Petty Officer Chris Weissenborn
Since September 2, United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has ordered 21 military strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing over 80. Operating under the claim that these boats are smuggling drugs, these strikes represent the Trump administration’s attempts to crack down on the illicit drug trade. Security policy concerning Latin America rests high on the agenda of the second Trump administration, as it attempts to enhance the Western Hemisphere’s prosperity and security.
The main goal of the strikes are to defeat drug cartels and other criminal groups. President Trump has leveraged both military might and legal tools in his pursuit. Upon returning to office in January, Trump signed an executive order directing the State Department to label drug cartels as terrorist organizations as they constitute a “national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.” Foreign terrorist entities are designated as using violence, weapons, or chemical and biological agents with the intent to threaten U.S. nationals or security. Interpretations vary on whether drug cartels fit such a definition.
A Marked Escalation
Trump also signed a Pentagon directive allowing the use of military force against cartels designated as terrorist organizations. This order provides an official basis for military operations at sea and on foreign soil. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, traditional means of targeting cartels via law enforcement have failed, so the U.S. “must treat them like the al-Qaedas of the world because that’s how they’re operating.”
Such a drastic departure from past practice signals Trump’s willingness to use extreme force to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. Drug cartels’ fentanyl trafficking has inflicted mass casualties on the nation’s population, with over 70,000 Americans dying every year from synthetic overdoses. According to President Trump, “the cartels are waging war on America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels.” By labelling cartels as terrorists, Trump justifies marshalling extraordinary tools against them.
However, legal specialists say declaring a group a terrorist entity does not provide authority for wartime-style operations or the use of armed force. International lawmakers are left frustrated over the lack of clear links between the boats and drug organizations. Venezuelan and Colombian leaders have refuted the administration’s grounds for the attacks. They claim that there is little evidence the boats were smuggling drugs — many of those killed were fishermen — while U.S. Congress members from both parties request clear legal justification.
The U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has condemned the U.S. military strikes, calling them “unacceptable.” He claims Washington must stop and conduct transparent investigations. While acknowledging the challenge of tackling drug trafficking, Türk classified these boat strikes as extrajudicial killings with no foundation in international law, regardless of the criminal conduct allegations. The intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against those posing an imminent threat to life, and based on the sparse information provided by the U.S. authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats pose such a threat.
Transnational Security Implications
This abrupt build-up in Washington’s projection of military power poses a significant challenge to regional security. The week of the first strike in the Caribbean, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up a visit to Mexico and Ecuador as part of the administration’s larger efforts to promote shared security and enhanced prosperity for the Western Hemisphere. Rubio’s visit to Mexico resulted in the creation of an implementation group to “follow up on security commitments between the U.S. and Mexico.” This would allow U.S. and Mexican officials to coordinate joint operations against drug, arms, and human trafficking. In Ecuador, he announced the U.S. would give nearly $20 million in security funding for the nation and possibly re-install a U.S. military base closed under former President Rafael Correa in 2009. Correa sought to promote national sovereignty by ending Ecuador’s reliance on U.S. military relations, a stark contrast from current President Daniel Noboa’s embrace of U.S. drug-fighting efforts.
Rubio’s trips show that U.S. regional security policy centers on mutual growth and collaboration. However, Washington appears to be using these relationships to rope other South American countries into providing cover for its pursuit of drug trafficking groups. For instance, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic have adopted U.S. rhetoric of a war on cartels while Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago welcome U.S. counternarcotics operations. However, major U.S. allies — like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico — have urged restraint in U.S. military actions near Venezuela.
Image Description: U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office. At their direction, U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean has grown sharply in an effort to crack down on drug smuggling. Both President Trump and Hegseth have provided information on the strikes and their casualties via social media, but have rarely shown evidence backing their accusations of drug trafficking, pushing a narrative in which power politics hold greater weight than regional cooperation.
Image Credit: ABACAPRESS
Trump’s military strikes against cartels operating in Venezuela appear part of a broader strategy to weaken leader Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. is one of many nations that does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate leader in response to evidence that Venezuela’s 2024 election was not free nor fair. Claims of the governments’ role in drug trafficking aside, it is no secret Trump wants Maduro out of power. Washington’s insistence that Venezuela is a key piece in the flow of drugs furthers the push by top U.S. aides, including Rubio, to drive Maduro from office. By labelling him a “narcoterrorist” and increasing the number of strikes off Venezuela’s coast, the Trump administration seeks to conflate Maduro with the U.S.’s anti-drug mission. U.S. military action in Venezuela can no longer be ruled out, as Trump told defense officials that “if there is an opportunity to kill terrorists, he will immediately give them the green light to do so.” Facilitating this possibility, President Trump has given the CIA the authority to conduct covert actions in Venezuela.
A military operation in Venezuela would further distort perceptions of U.S. influence. Trump’s steady display of an “unvarnished might-makes-right global order” in the Caribbean could damage any pretense at altruism in international relations. The Trump administration’s refusal to prioritize bilateral cooperation in collective security efforts and its disregard of Caribbean leaders is no doubt being watched by other international actors. The reorientation of U.S. military force to its near neighborhood signifies a shift in national security strategy, subscribing to a spheres of influence approach to international order where the U.S. can move freely around its immediate region. Relegating actively-sought regional partnerships in favor of prioritizing U.S. objectives reinforces the sense among American allies, such as Taiwan and Ukraine, that Washington may no longer have the desire to come to their aid in times of need. As a result, other superpowers, such as Russia and China, may feel empowered to adopt similar approaches in their own regions in response to the current image of U.S. impunity.
Caribbean nations wary of American bullying may turn toward other countries in their search for security and prosperity. For instance, China, a nation with pre-existing economic and military ties in Latin America due to its Belt and Road Initiative, could sell itself as a responsible global player and champion of multilateral cooperation in light of the Trump administration’s actions.
An Effective Strategy?
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelley said President Trump’s “top priority” is to protect the homeland. Yet, his persistent pursuit of this objective through unyielding military endeavors brings into question the capacity of U.S. executive authority. The Trump administration exclusively provided over a dozen Senate Republicans a target list for its military campaign in the Caribbean Sea, as well as a detailed legal rationale for the strikes. In response, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia retorted that when an administration has the ability to choose which elected representatives get to understand their legal argument, “it ignores all the checks and balances.”
Despite numerous high-level U.S. officials claiming military intervention is necessary to stem the flow of illegal drugs, many representatives have little confidence in this approach. Lost intelligence from potential arrests and the corrosion of Caribbean authority brings into question whether Washington’s war on terrorism blueprint is an effective means of limiting the drug trade. Bridging law enforcement and military tools to treat cartels as terrorists is not just a symbolic gesture, but carries unintended consequences for the wider Western Hemisphere by, counterproductively, fueling regional instability. As long as Trump frames these boat strikes as part of a larger armed conflict against Latin American drug cartels, the prospect of military action will continue to add more uncertainty to everyday life in the Caribbean.