War on Drugs or War on Venezuela? Trump’s Military Strikes Stir Global Debate

The sea is tense and silent — until U.S. fighter jets slice through the clouds over the Caribbean. Within seconds, missiles strike several boats suspected of smuggling drugs from Venezuela. Flames rise on the horizon, and chaos fills the air.

President Donald Trump’s administration calls it a new front in the “war on drugs.” But critics warn it looks more like a “war on Venezuela.” The military campaign, carried out without congressional approval, has already claimed at least 27 lives in five separate strikes.

Behind the scenes, questions grow about legality and motive. Trump’s team justifies the attacks using the same legal grounds that followed the 9/11 terror attacks — a move legal experts call “a dangerous stretch of power.”

While Trump argues the operations are meant to “protect Americans from narco-terror,” the United Nations and human rights lawyers accuse Washington of breaching international law. Even within the U.S., lawmakers from both parties demand answers: Was this truly a fight against drugs — or an attempt to topple Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro?

As the world watches, one thing is clear: the line between counterterrorism and counter-narcotics has never been so blurred.