US upends its role as the high-seas drug police with a military strike on Venezuelan boat
September 8, 2025
The United States has long relied on the Coast Guard and allies to interdict drug vessels through arrests and prosecutions at sea. That approach is being tested after a U.S. military strike on a vessel off Venezuela. Trump administration officials say 11 Tren de Aragua gang members were killed as they smuggled drugs. It marked a sharp shift from legal interdiction toward direct military force. Officials justified the action as self-defense against an immediate threat, with Vice President JD Vance praising the strike. Legal experts say it violated international law and warn that it undermines decades of cooperation and judicial processes.