†®*mp’s Drug War Turns Into A Real War

Kal Inois
Sep 5
3 min read

Updated: Sep 7

On Tuesday, †®*mp took the United States into uncharted waters — literally and figuratively. From the Oval Office, he boasted that a U.S. Navy missile had blown apart a “go-fast” boat off Venezuela’s coast, killing 11 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua cartel. He even posted video of the strike.

This wasn’t law enforcement. It wasn’t about arrests, prosecutions, or evidence. It was a public execution at sea — the first missile strike in what †®*mp now calls his “war on drugs.”

A Dangerous Shift

For decades, U.S. counter-narcotics operations were conducted by the Coast Guard, driven to capture traffickers and seize narcotics for prosecution. That model is now gone. †®*mp has redefined traffickers as “narco-terrorists,” using an executive order to label entire cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. With that move, he claims the right to use military force — anywhere in the world, without congressional approval — against people accused of drug smuggling.

This is how the war on drugs becomes a literal war. More missiles, fewer arrests. Reduced legal oversight, increased brute force... less law, more unchecked power.

Congress in the Dark

Even lawmakers weren’t told. Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Chris Coons said they had received no briefing and questioned the legality of the operation. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, warned that only Congress has the authority to declare war. But †®*mp loyalists like Sen. Bernie Moreno shrugged off oversight entirely: “They were bringing drugs that were going to kill Americans, so we killed them first.”

This is not just about drugs. It’s about whether one man can wage war without accountability.

Venezuela in the Crosshairs

The strike was directed at more than a cartel. It was directed at Venezuela. The †®*mp regime has long accused President Nicolás Maduro of running a narco-state, with a $50 million U.S. bounty hanging over his head. A U.S. flotilla now sits off Venezuela’s shores, and †®*mp’s Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, openly suggested Maduro could be targeted.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just drug interdiction. It’s gunboat diplomacy — a shadow war with regime change written all over it.

Why It Matters

Human rights advocates are right to call this what it is: extrajudicial killing. Colombian President Gustavo Petro called it “murder.” The men on that boat weren’t convicted drug kingpins. They were poor, disposable foot soldiers. The message from †®*mp was chilling: suspects no longer get trials. They get missiles.

When government skips courts and bypasses Congress, democracy is not secure. †®*mp has turned the war on drugs into his own private war. And he’s daring anyone, at home or abroad, to stop him.

We at C.A.T. stand against this reckless slide into authoritarianism. Government exists to serve, not rule.Congress must reassert its power, demand accountability, and stop the normalization of illegal wars waged from the Oval Office.

Because if we accept summary execution as the new normal, democracy itself is on the chopping block.