"U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean has raised alarm bells across the U.S. and Latin America, with many analysts raising concerns around the ethicality and legality of the recent strikes. But aside from these debates, there is another, more glaring truth: these strikes are entirely unnecessary and out of step with years of standard and more effective counternarcotics operations in the hemisphere."
"Decades of such efforts have demonstrated that a unilateral, heavy-handed approach to drug trafficking and organized crime is ineffective and inefficient, with the very real potential to aggravate violence and insecurity. Even the largest U.S.-backed military buildup in the region in the last 25 years, Plan Colombia, failed to root out the influence of drug trafficking networks in that country."
The Trump administration initiated a non-international armed conflict against alleged drug cartels in the Caribbean, deploying warships, submarines, fighter jets, and thousands of U.S. forces. The United States conducted strikes against at least 14 boats in just over a month, killing 57 people. The administration designated cartels as terrorist organizations, authorized CIA intelligence and operations in the Caribbean and Venezuela, and explored legal justifications for expanded strikes. National security experts note the approach relies on militarized enforcement that has historically failed, risks aggravating violence, and undermines more effective, cooperative counternarcotics efforts exemplified by prior regional programs.
Read at english.elpais.com
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