Public sentiment regarding the U.S. military action against Venezuelan drug cartels is highly polarized. While a significant segment approves the operation as necessary to combat drug trafficking and protect American citizens, a considerable number of voices raise concerns about its legality, ethics, and underlying motives, fearing potential imperialism centered around oil interests rather than a genuine attempt to address drug issues. The discourse reflects a mixture of support for strong action against drug cartels and profound skepticism regarding the methods used, indicating deep divisions in public opinion.

US Government

Venezuelan Government

US Citizens

I’m pretty anti-cartel, but I’m also pretty skeptical of anything our government says right now.

UnreasonablyBland

Its all fun and games until someone bombs a frat house or investment bank since that's where all the coke is going.

Seriously though, if there are now laws or norms, we can't protest when Americans are killed abroad. If no proof is needed to kill someone, you can kill or be killed by anyone

Deep-Reputation545

It’s all smoke and mirror 

War on drugs doesn’t make a dent to the real world 

If people want it they can go score a bag of cocaine or anything anywhere in USA or even the world

Optimisticatlover

My thoughts are, RELEASE THE FUCKING FILES!

Cigaran

It’s called obfuscation.  Just trying to talk about things other than Epstein.  BTW, where is some physical evidence of the drugs they were carrying?

almostmade

If there was strong evidence that they were running drugs, then arrest them and present that evidence in court.

bigfatgeekboy

You mean the boat full of migrants? It wasn't a large boat, but it had 11 people in it. Don't you think the drug runners would run a smaller crew to put more drugs into it to make more money?

Also, in what fucking world does the President of the United States have the authority to just willy nilly bomb a boat full of people? Drug trafficking is a criminal matter, which means it's up to the Judiciary to handle. Track the boat, send the Coast Guard in, arrest them all, and throw them all in prison.

bugsyramone

How do we know it was only cartel members on the boat, or even that they had drugs on the boat?

This is why we have due process as part of our Constitution. 

RBR927

It’s a serious move with major regional implications, raises questions about sovereignty, strategy, and long-term impact.

valerij_mihajlovd59v

Fuck due process amirite??

Civilised countries have laws and courts with judges and juries that decide who broke the law and what the punishment should be.

Governments shouldn't be dishing out arbitary capital punishment in exactly the same way police shouldnt be able to enter your house without a warrant.

That's before we even talk about the fact that bombing civilians in other countries and international waters is a major violation of state sovereignty and international law.

We've gone from the US being the "global policeman" to being the global mob-boss.

travelcallcharlie

Absolutely zero proof there were any drugs or cartel members on that boat.

Even if there were, strongly against it.

stonewallace17

Just another distraction from Trump’s domestic issues. And a heavily re-used one at that (war on drugs)

aft3rthought

Plot of Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy.  For not wanting to start any new wars, DJT is speed-running starting new wars.

Mister_Roach

Another interventionist war, Im sure it Will go great 🙄

favuorite

CrackersandChee

This is about Venezuela's oil, not drugs on a boat..

Aposta-fish

Extra-judicial killings in international waters means crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed.

Who decides who gets killed?  

What evidence did we have that this was a cartel vessel?  How credible was it?

When you allow the President to be judge, jury  and executioner, you are headed for a world of shit.

daveashaw

I’m from the island right next to Venezuela. Tbh I’m not sure what to believe. Story came out today the guys were fishermen from our island. 9 mourning families. Our prime minister said to kill them all violently but I’m not sure if she realised those people were from our island. I believe in justice. But the governments don’t

GuyfromTrinidad99

my brother died from fentanyl so i say bomb them all

flann007

It’s a distraction from the Epstein files.

ggoptimus

As an armchair Admiral, I have no thoughts on it either way because our current administration has proven over and over that it will lie about anything, so who knows if the attack even happened? Who knows if the footage was genuine, who even can say anything anymore? We are in a post truth, alternative facts era.

WellFedHobo

Distraction from the Epstein files. 🗳💙🇺🇸

c17usaf

The nicest thing I can call it is "overkill". We have ways of dealing with this as it is -- it's part of the Coast Guard's job -- so just shooting drug boats out of the water is not how we should be doing this.

Then you take the Trump factor... yeah, we don't have the moral authority.

tkrr

We dont murder people who are “suspected” of running drugs.

We apprehend them, use evidence and convict them in court.

How long before Trump orders the military to shoot drug dealers on the streets of Chicago?

This is not how our society works.

Raspberries-Are-Evil

techiechefie

When an empire falls, their currency becomes paper and their military becomes overextended and their wealthy become unapologetically lawless

WareKaraNari

clowngoose_mastrchef

Opening_Frame_2625

LeftLane4PassingOnly

Eastern-Support1091

Kaboom!

Let's go!


I have seen videos of military shooting at these boats to disable engine with the intention of arresting them so it's not like it's a new thing.

But yah up the ante on this stuff = less compelling for them to do.

Best_Market4204

Its gotta be really confusing for the cartels at this point, welcome to america, get out, come back, drugs are bad? Got drugs? We demand drugs, no wait free reign, wait no now we bomb you. 

It must be hell trying to get a 401k and health care with the cartels. Your either getting a immunity letter or a jdam.

Smooth_Buffalo_2578

Mario-X777

Spend hundreds of millions of dollars to blow up a boat that had probably not even a million dollars worth of drugs on it. Targeted drone strikes on boats that cost next to nothing to replace, containing drugs that are easily replaced, with people that are easily replaced. There is no shortage of desperate exploitable people. 

hobbylobbyrickybobby

I’m wiling to bet that vessel had nothing to do with cartels. Trump is poking Maduro to see if he can take over Venezuela’s oil reserves.

HotDonnaC

With all the dodgy things that have been going on, I see this as nothing more than opening the door for the US government to bomb foreign boats they claim are drug smugglers. How long until they hit a boat with immigrants, claiming it was actually drugs.

Thomisawesome

The boat was in international waters with 13 countries between the US and Venezuela.   
The nearest country was something like 10 miles away. Let alone the huge distance that the boat would have to travel to even make it to the US.

The “we got them because they were bringing drugs into the US” is a flat out lie.    

The US can now be considered a terrorist country.

Canuck-In-TO

What was the proof that there were drugs/cartel members on the boat?? This incompetent administration probably just killed some fishermen for a fake headline

STA_Alexfree

The war on drugs failed under Reagan. Expensive as fuck, little results. And Cocaine is mostly used recreational. Legalize? Focus on Fentanyl. Fentanyl and Heroine are disrupting our society, not Cocaine.

Material_Water4659

The U.S. government broke international law and murdered the citizens of another country. 

The U.S. is a rogue state.

Used-Sun5726

Feels like a distraction.  Files, regime change, or even to pause elections based on how they are wording the strike.  Nothing is what it seems anymore...

bangsmackpow

1. What is the evidence they were drug cartels? 

2. It isn’t ok to unalterably  bomb people, especially for ambiguous reasons.

Capable_Diamond_3878

Illustrious-Okra-524

I don't trust this administration to do the right thing in any situation. At my most cynical, I think it's a distraction from the demands to release the Epstein Files and that makes me sick. 11 people died, who were they and what were they doing? Even if they were smuggling drugs, they have a right to due process in my mind. I don't care that laws passed by dick-taters \[sic\] might say otherwise.

notyourstranger

Great if they were actually bombing cartels , not a bunch of immigrants

Tricky_Photo2885

It won’t achieve the desired outcome but it will make for “good TV” for their base.

descendency

DutyFailed

Fight, fight, fight!

Who needs healthcare and education!

samhouston84

Should other countries be allowed to bomb criminal groups within the United States? No? Well that's how I feel about it.

mr_evilweed

False flag, to possible start a war which would distract from the epstein fallout. Oh I forgot to mention, it was never about drugs it's about their oil.

abbeyroad_39

I think the White House is doing a lot more damage/harm to Americans than any drug cartel. With any luck, this regime will eat each other alive.

japajew26

Are you talking about the bombing of unidentified civilians in International waters?

TheBeachLifeKing

Was it proven that they were drug cartels?

CoffeeChocolateBoth

Well they remind me to ask where we're at with the Epstein files.

cre8ivjay

flashliberty5467

Totally well-thought out and absolutely won’t have any unintended consequences.

Sea-Jaguar5018

Dropping bombs on a foreign nation is an act of war.

IntrepidWeird9719

We have a legal method of this. I took part of it when I was in the military. We’d identify a drug boat and notify the CG. CG would roll up on them with a boat and a helo and take custody. Said crapsacks would then get to learn about our janky legal system.

Much better than blowing up boats which may or may not be running drugs. Our government is sooooooo jacked up atm.

Gunldesnapper

My thoughts are: Where are the Epstein files?

Romano16

We should not be participating in extra judicial killings of anyone, it’s fundamentally against our ethos. If it’s not acceptable for Americans, it should be unacceptable for anyone.

stay_strng

If the administration said they killed 11 narco traffickers, that is bullshit,  they killed 11 fishermen or immigrates, if it was a loaded with drugs it would only have a driver and a navigator. Drug boats are fitted with only the bare essentials to reach the destination, 11 people are to expensive to have with a loaded boat. They murdered 11 innocent people.

suthrnboi

If they are actually bombing cartels, then no issue. If they are just bombing people they think are cartels but are actually civilians or have a chance of just being civilians, then I'm very against it.

waterloograd

badwolf1013

Ever read the book "Clear and Present Danger" by Tom Clancy?

naked_nomad

Ask yourself, was it a cartel that was bombed, or are you just taking the word of known liars (Trump admin)? 

apwgk

The GOP has been beating up small fry who couldn't fight back my entire life. Grenada, Panama, etc.

atchafalaya

It’s the opening salvo. Wonder how long until we drone strikes cartels in Mexico.

Jorgwalther

ShaveTheTurtles

Oh, did they release proof that this was the cartel and there were drugs on board? Or, did they just blow up brown people?

Cannot believe a word this regime says, and surly they could have seized the boat/drugs. An international embarrassment, this “potus”.

flushed_nuts

This is such a bag of BS. Who says they are targeting cartels? Who says the boat was loaded with drugs?  Only one person and his cronies. There is no real evidence. 

This shit has got to stop before we get in over our heads.

Dyrogitory

AccomplishedLine9351

It's murder plain and simple. Smuggling drugs is not a capital offense. He has become judge, jury and executioner with no due process. It is terrifying to be in the place we are in and it is a very short rationalization from doing the same thing to US citizens for whatever reason he can justify in his head.

insanecorgiposse

prajnadhyana

We have a nasty habit of killing people from other countries, this is just another example.

Shaktiparakriti

Another distraction for the benefit of POTUS...will be as beneficial to stopping the flow of drugs into the US as the Canadian tariffs have been...

BrewboyEd

Who says that boat was smuggling drugs? Sure can't take Trump's word for it.

CaptainStanIsTheMan

I think the shift in a more aggressive policy towards the drug cartels is necessary. Largely the United States has taken a hands-off approach towards the cartels. We viewed them as a law enforcement issue for Mexico, and others. 

Over that period the cartels have gotten more and more militant. They have expanded from drugs to kidnapping, ,extortion, sex-trafficking, and fraud. The governments in Mexico, and South America have become increasingly captured, or ceded territory to these groups. 

These groups often operate as pseudo-governmental organizations over this territory, and harm the civilian populace that lives there. They have access to military grade weapons that makes it difficult for law enforcement to engage. Border Patrol is routinely engaged by traffickers with assault rifles, and use drones to avoid patrols, or to smuggle narcotics over the border. 

I don't see a fundamental difference between engaging these groups, and say the Taliban, Boko Haram, or the Houthis. Their ideologies are very different, but they share many similarities.

Echelonaz

I’m not going to believe it’s real until the US provides evidence for several things they are claiming.  We have no idea if the boat was even Venezuelan.  We have no idea there were drugs on board.  And we have not been told the confirmed identities of those on board and if there were even 11 people. To this point, the US Government has provided none of those details. 
And be honest people.  Do you really believe anyone in the Trump administration is capable of not royally fucking up a mission like this?

RelentlessDem

# Depends. What are your thoughts on Canada bombing and killing 11 American gun-runners near Juan de Fuca strait?

AusCan531

Wag the dog in bound.  They’ll start a war with Venezuela, round up all the people they were giving refugee status too, and get lots of people killed so a pedo won’t have to get any justice.  Plus when the protests starts they can ban all voting and really be set.  Nazi set, but set.  America is going from sleepy Joe meh country to straight Evil Empire in under a year.

SexyCouple4Bliss

ToggafRevol

That would require that I trust the Trump regime is telling the truth.  They blew up a boat without boarding it or offering any proof that they had evidence.  It might have been a drug boat but like with American citizens, no due process, no belief in their actions.

infidel99

Careful commenting on this everyone. Just got a warning from stupid Reddit for “threatening harm on someone” because I agreed with the move.

  If it actually happened, it is totally illegal but that has not bothered Trump before.   A government does not just get to kill people because they THINK they are moving drugs.   You stop the boat and arrest them.

butcher99

The united states should stop trying to fight guerilla wars or at least attempt to fight one that's worth it

Decriminalize and regulate drugs, beef up mental health care at home, and actually enforce the border against threats instead of against people who are entering legally or at least in a non-threatening manner and watch the cartels stop being a problem for the US in a month

AntiqueVanity

Sounds like the plot line for Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy. Good book but a bad reality.

Limp_Distribution

I cannot intelligently share an opinion since I don't have access to their intel

whineybubbles

MarkedByNyx

Better they are out there doing good than picking up trash in DC.

No_Yellow_8298

I believe there should be a war on cartels just like there was a war on terrorism by the US. The cartels are also worse.

protonsters

Are we even sure that's what the US is doing?

What if they just blew up some poor fishermen because they didn't respond to hails in English?

Trump absolutely would have ordered them to "just kill somebody" and expect to control the narrative.

quequotion

imc225

Im wondering how we get away with murdering people outside of the US with no evidence of wrongdoing...even if they were up to shenanigans, you still have to wait until they do something to us I thought...sailing the high seas in international waters is not doing anything to us

smitteh

How do you know it was not an extra judicial murder? No evidence has been provided to show it was drugs. 


Also, release the epstein files.

account_for_norm

Maximum-Software-551

He killed them because they were just migrants on a boat, not drug cartel.


But if you say they were drug cartels there is a chance someone will believe it and spread it to others, which is what the administration is counting on.



Propaganda like this doesn't last long once the cracks start appearing.


A US building got blown up in Ukraine by Russia and he did nothing.  He had cartel people in the US because they paid those gold visas 


We are not a country to be taken seriously 

littlekurousagi

I love how liberals support drug smugglers now.🤣

Ir0nman123

I'm sure central and south American governments will feel great that this administration feels it can bomb vessels off their coast with impunity...

Even if it was a Cartel boat, wouldn't it be better to intercept them and detain them for intelligence on their operations?

DasBoggler

Just doing things to distract from Epstein files.

Fire_Z1

Pretty much the definition of extra-judicial killing

LionNo3221

The Trump administration has initiated a military campaign against Venezuelan drug cartels, marked by a recent deadly strike in the Caribbean.

US Military Action Against Venezuelan Drug Cartels

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