MIAMI — A U.S. strike against an alleged drug-carrying boat leaving Venezuela is drawing mixed reactions across the hemisphere, raising questions about sovereignty, security and the Trump administration’s broader policy toward the region.
President Donald Trump described the incident as a “kinetic strike” within the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. Officials said the vessel was carrying large quantities of drugs.
Aaron Rosen, president of the World Affairs Council Miami, said the move signals an escalation in the administration’s approach.
“Taking the war on drugs to the next level basically,” he said.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations — a move that opened the door for U.S. military actions typically associated with counterterrorism campaigns in the Middle East.
“In countries like Iraq or Iran or Yemen or Syria, I think we’re going to see more of that in the Western Hemisphere where the administration is going to go after the narco traffickers in areas where we previously might have been a bit more hesitant because it’s a little closer,” Rosen added.
But Rosen also noted regional unease.
“All countries in the region are concerned about what that may entail as far as incursions into their national sovereignty,” he said.
Trump defended the strike.
“I think a lot of other people won’t be doing it again when they watch that tape,” he said.
Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia denounced the incident on social media, calling it “murder.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Mexico and Ecuador this week, suggested aggressive tactics are necessary.
“Interdiction doesn’t work,” Rubio said. “What will stop them is when you blow them up and get rid of them.”
Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan-American Caucus, questioned the administration’s consistency.
“I think they have to show results, legal justification, otherwise this is a political stunt,” Ferro said.
She pointed to what she sees as contradictions in U.S. policy: working to end deportation protections for Venezuelans while also labeling President Nicolás Maduro’s government as a “narco-terror criminal organization.”
“So while everything is happening, why are you still deporting people to a country that you are calling a terrorist government country?” Ferro asked.
Trump has defended his administration’s stance, saying Venezuela has been “very bad both in turn in sending drugs and sending some of the worst criminals in the world into our country.”
Rosen said the administration is trying to deliver on several promises at once.
“So the Trump administration is essentially trying to deliver on multiple promises at once — reducing migration and deporting illegal immigrants. Another promise is going after narco traffickers, even if there is sometimes logical inconsistencies to comprehensively piece that together,” he said.
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