US Strike on Caribbean Boat Kills 4
Are boat strikes a serious blow against cartels or extrajudicial killings that fail to stop fentanyl?
Above: Donald Trump speaks in Washington, DC, on Sept. 18. Image credit: Jim Watson/ AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
The administration's decisive action is justified in the context of a drug war. Cartels moving poison toward American neighborhoods have forfeited the right to a polite interdiction, and confirmed intelligence backs every target. Treating traffickers like misunderstood businessmen is what gets Americans killed, whereas hitting them at sea stops the cargo.
Anti-Trump narrative
Over 200 people have been killed and not one shred of evidence has been shown that any of the vessels struck were carrying drugs. The fentanyl killing Americans comes overland from Mexico, not on speedboats, so this campaign does nothing but rack up a body count and grease the path to regime change. Killing suspects without proof or trial is a war crime.
