Since the beginning of his second term, President Donald Trump has made tremendous progress in halting the flow of illegal drugs into our country. On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order that allowed criminal organizations and drug cartels, such as the Venezuelan gang “Tren de Aragua,” to be labeled as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
Also, as he started his second term, the President made it a priority to secure the southern border, which has saved countless American lives.
Under President Joe Biden, the open border led to illegal drugs flooding our nation. The results were horrific as the annual number of Americans killed by illegal drugs skyrocketed. It reached a peak of 114,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in September 2023.
Along with securing the border, President Trump authorized 35 military strikes against narco-terrorist boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Since early September, these strikes have killed at least 115 drug cartel criminals. According to President Trump, for every narco-terrorist vessel destroyed, 25,000 American lives were saved.
Simultaneously, the Trump administration began building up military forces in the region. While F-35 fighter jets were deployed to Puerto Rico, “three guided-missile destroyers,” were sent to the waters off the Venezuelan coast.
Eventually, the naval force assembled in the Caribbean Sea would include “nearly a dozen Navy ships” and 12,000 troops, as well as the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, “the U.S. military’s most advanced aircraft carrier.”
On December 10, an oil tanker was seized off the coast of Venezuela that was carrying “2 million barrels of heavy crude” oil. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the tanker was part of “an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
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In the weeks that followed, another tanker was seized, a blockade was instituted and a docking facility used for illegal drugs was destroyed. Discussions were also held with Venezuelan dictator Nicolos Maduro, encouraging him to leave office.
After giving Maduro numerous chances to resign peacefully, the President authorized a lightning military strike that was flawlessly executed. Early Saturday morning, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were extracted in an operation led by “Delta Force, the U.S. Army’s most elite counterterrorism and direct-action unit.”
Residents of Caracas, Venezuela reported at least seven large explosions were heard. Fortunately, there were no American fatalities or aircraft losses in the sophisticated attack that President Trump said included a “massive” number of helicopters and fighter jets.
Maduro and his wife were brought to New York, where they will appear in federal court and face justice for their crimes. The Southern District of New York indicted both Maduro and Flores for “narco-terrorism and weapons offenses.”
Under Maduro, “a corrupt, illegitimate government” was established. He “leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.” Due to Maduro’s activities of sending illegal drugs and criminal gang members into our country, thousands of Americans have been tragically killed.
Venezuela was a major supplier of cocaine into the United States; however, 70% of U.S. drug overdose deaths are due to fentanyl. These drugs are shipped across our southern border after being produced by Mexican drug cartels using chemicals supplied by China.
Sadly, these vicious drug cartels are extremely powerful and totally control Mexico. As President Trump noted in a Fox News interview, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is “not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico.” The President said that Sheinbaum is “very frightened” of the cartels and has rebuffed his offer to destroy them.
Trump claimed that “Something’s going to have to be done with Mexico.” The President is correct; the Mexican drug cartels are a direct threat to the United States.
Instead of being grateful that Maduro, a dangerous narco-terrorist leader, was apprehended and will face justice, the Mexican government denounced the U.S. military operation in Venezuela.
In their statement, the Mexican government “strongly” condemned the “military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by armed forces of the United States of America…Based on its foreign policy principles and its pacifist vocation, Mexico makes an urgent call to respect international law, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, and to cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people.”
With the opposition of the Mexican government and Sheinbaum’s refusal to combat the drug cartels, once again, President Trump will be faced with a major decision. While the Mexican President is afraid of the drug cartels, President Trump and our military are not fearful.
Trump realizes that Mexico treats the United States horribly, allowing drugs and illegal immigrants to flood into our nation. If the President decides to act, the United States military has the capability to destroy every Mexican drug cartel. Successfully defeating these deadly cartels would be the biggest step forward in the history of our “war on drugs.”
Trump has been the first United States president to launch a serious “war on drugs” by directly engaging the suppliers with military force and removing a narco-terrorist at the forefront of the illicit shipments into our country. The results have been outstanding, but victory cannot be achieved until the Mexican drug cartels are eradicated.
Striking the Mexican drug cartels can be the latest move of the Trump administration to bring order to the Western Hemisphere. President Trump is updating the Monroe Doctrine for the current era. He said, “The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot.”
Under President Trump’s doctrine, the goal is to prevent “hostile actors, foreign-backed criminal networks, and destabilizing regimes from gaining footholds in the hemisphere.” Narco-terrorist organizations in our “neighborhood” should no longer feel comfortable trying to destabilize and destroy the United States. Henceforth, they must face consequences.
President Trump has already placed the outlaw regime of Columbia on notice. He has called the communist dictatorship of Cuba “a failing nation;” however, dealing with Mexico should be next on his agenda.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance, and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and at Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com
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