Commentary: As Trump Blows Up Drug Ships, He’s Using an Old, Corrupt Playbook in Latin America

Consumer confidence is declining. The national debt is $38 trillion and climbing like a yodeling climber in this “price is right” game. Donald Trump’s approval ratings have plummeted and the United States is becoming more restless as 2025 draws to a close.

What does a strong man do to support his diet?

Attack Latin America, of course!

US warplanes have been indiscriminately bombing small boats in international waters off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia since September. The Trump administration claimed the ships were loaded with drugs manned by “narco-terrorists” and released videos for each of the 10 ships — and burned down the count to make the actions seem as normal as a mission in “Call of Duty.”

Defense Secretary Pat Hegseth wrote on social media: “The drug terrorists who want to bring poison to our shores will find no safe haven in our hemisphere.” It will meet 10,000 troops stationed there as part of the largest US deployment in decades, all in the name of curbing the drug epidemic that has ravaged red America for the past quarter century.

This week, Trump authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela and revealed that he wants to launch strikes against ground targets where his people say Latin American cartels operate. Who cares what the host countries will allow? Who cares about American laws that state only Congress — not the president — can declare war on our enemies?

This is Latin America, after all.

Military buildup, bombing, and other threats in the name of freedom is one of the oldest moves in the book of American foreign policy. For more than two centuries, the United States has treated Latin America as its own personal piñata, fooling around with goods and not caring about the consequences.

“It is known to all that we receive it [our blessings] James Monroe concluded in an 1823 speech known as the Monroe Doctrine, which essentially told the rest of the world to leave the Western Hemisphere to us.

In our 19th century wars of expansion, official and not, we won territories where Latin Americans lived – Panamanians, Puerto Ricans, but especially Mexicans – who treated us less well than serfs. We have occupied nations for years and imposed restrictions on others. We have produced puppets and dictators and we have overthrown democratically elected governments on a regular basis.

The result of all these actions were mass migrations from Latin America that forever changed the demographics of the United States. And when these people – like my parents – came here, they immediately encountered racism in the American spirit, which then justified a Latin American foreign policy that was oriented towards domination, not friendship.

Nothing in this country is historically associated with Latinos, whether in their home countries or here. We are the eternal victims and eternal aggressors of this country, with hurting the gringos—whether by stealing their jobs, moving into our neighborhoods, marrying our daughters, or trafficking drugs—the only thing on our minds.

That’s why when Trump ran on a platform of isolation last year, he never meant the region — of course not. The border between the United States and Latin America has never been a fence separating the United States from Mexico or from our shores. It is wherever we call it.

Colombian President Gustavo Pietro Origo addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters on September 23.

(Pamela Smith/Associated Press)

That’s why the Trump administration is banking on the idea that it can get away with bombing its own boats and is happy to be quick. In their view, the 43 people who have been killed in the open sea by the US missile attacks are not human beings and anyone who deserves to be attacked even with sympathy and suspicion.

So when Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the United States of murder because an attack killed a Colombian fisherman who had nothing to do with the cartels, Trump took to social media to blame Petro’s “fresh mouth,” calling him a “drug lord” and warning the longtime U.S. ally that he would “close these killing fields.” [cartel bases] Immediately, or the United States will close it for him, and it will not be done well.”

The only person who can stop the mutual heat on this issue is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who should know all the evil that American imperialism has done in Latin America. For decades, America treated Cuba, the homeland of its parents, like a playground, supporting one dictator after another until Cuba revolted and Fidel Castro took power. The decades-long embargo that Trump tightened upon taking office for a second term has done nothing to liberate the Cuban people and instead made things worse.

Instead, Rubio is encouraging. He’s pushing for regime change in Venezuela, cheering on the self-proclaimed “world’s best dictator” El Salvador’s vice president and Trump’s missile strikes.

“Bottom line, these are drug boats,” Rubio recently told reporters with Trump by his side. “If people want to destroy drug boats, stop sending drugs to the United States.”

You might ask: Who cares? Cartels are bad, drugs are bad, aren’t they? of course. But every American should be opposed every time a suspected drug boat is removed from Latin America without question and without any proof being presented. Because every time Trump violates another law or norm in the name of defending America and no one stops him, democracy is destroyed a little more.

This is the president who dreams of treating his enemies, including American cities, like drug boats.

Few will care, alas. This is Latin America, after all.