Lost in the news cycle during the government shutdown were more military strikes against alleged “drug traffickers” ordered by Pete Hegseth. The military has now conducted 19 strikes (and counting) at a loss of 75 lives (and counting).
Oops… I just read that the military has conducted a 20th strike, killing four more. As I was saying, the death toll continues to grow.
The government continues to provide no evidence that the people they are murdering are involved in the drug trade. The government doesn’t even know who they are executing. Moreover, even if the allegations against the victims are true, the military strikes are still profoundly unjust.
These boats and their passengers posed no clear or present danger to the United States. Military aircraft are able to spot the boats they target hundreds miles from the nearest coastline. The Navy or Coast Guard can easily intercept the boats, arrest the occupants and present evidence for the world to see.
Even if the vessels aren’t headed toward U.S. shores, these strikes are counterintuitive to stated aim of shutting down drug cartels. If the goal is to dismantle smuggling networks, the U.S. military should be using drones or satellites to track the “conspirators” and their shipments in order to build a meaningful picture of cartel operations.
Instead, we’re shown grainy, black-and-white footage of these strikes that are reminiscent of the video-game-style killings during “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
If this isn’t criminal behavior, it’s hard to imagine what is. It’s not just me saying this: Luis Moreno Ocampo, a former prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, has called the murders a “crime against humanity“.
One of our strongest allies, the United Kingdom, also agrees with this assessment. Reports are that they have signaled that they will cease sharing intelligence related to drug smuggling with the U.S. because of these strikes.
There is a real likelihood that once Pete Hegseth is out of office, he will need to choose his vacation destinations carefully in order to avoid straying into a country that might arrest him.
None of this even touches the deeper problem: the sheer injustice of our so-called “war on drugs.” Law enforcement isn’t winning that war, and adding military firepower won’t win it either.
The larger calamity of the War on Drugs is a topic I’ll have to return to soon.
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