Donald Trump has once again found a way to turn a policy issue into a war, this time, against Venezuela. What started as a “drug control operation” has now become something closer to a mini invasion, complete with CIA involvement and airstrikes. Trump’s obsession with using military strength to solve everything has reached a new high.
From Drug War to War-War
When Trump said he had “the sea under control,” he wasn’t joking, after approving CIA operations to target drug traffickers in Venezuela, he followed it up with military strikes that left six people dead off the Venezuelan coast. The footage, which he proudly shared online.
The move fits perfectly into Trump’s long-standing obsession with force. He’s never been one for diplomacy, he prefers domination. Now, under the pretext of fighting drugs, he’s turning the Caribbean into a battlefield. And as always, he frames it as America “taking control.” But behind the loud slogans lies a deeper reality: is this really about drugs, or about reasserting U.S. power in Latin America?
Maduro Fires Back
Of course, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro isn’t taking it quietly. He called the attacks a “coup attempt,” accusing the U.S. of reviving its old habit of using the CIA to meddle in foreign governments. To many Latin Americans, this isn’t paranoia, it’s history repeating itself. From Chile to Panama to Nicaragua, America’s idea of “help” has often come with missiles attached.
Trump brushed off the accusation, saying he’s only trying to “protect America from drugs.” But even his own supporters can’t explain how attacking boats in international waters or increasing troop presence in the Caribbean fits that narrative.
The U.S. has now deployed eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets near Puerto Rico, all supposedly to stop “smugglers.” If this is about drugs, it’s a strangely militarized version of anti-narcotics policing.
A Dangerous Obsession
Trump’s obsession with Venezuela didn’t start today. He’s long seen Maduro as a personal enemy, a dictator he could “remove” to cement his strongman image. But this latest escalation takes it further. By using the CIA and the military simultaneously, Trump is walking a dangerous line between enforcement and warfare.
There’s also the moral side of it, something Trump rarely acknowledges. The people killed in those strikes weren’t given trials or proven to be traffickers. They were simply labelled “unlawful combatants.” It’s the same logic that powered drone wars in the Middle East, kill first, explain later.
America’s Addiction to Control
In trying to end drug trafficking, Trump is feeding America’s addiction, not to substances, but to control. The U.S. can’t seem to function without having an enemy to confront. Whether it’s Iraq, Iran, or now Venezuela, every presidency finds its “bad guy” to flex on. Trump just happens to do it louder and with more flair.
Meanwhile, the real issue, America’s own drug consumption crisis, remains largely unaddressed. Opioid deaths in U.S. cities continue to rise, fentanyl continues to flood the streets, and pharmaceutical companies still operate with impunity. But it’s easier to bomb boats in the Caribbean than to reform the system at home.
Trump may think he’s making America strong again, but in the long run, this obsession with military solutions weakens everything , diplomacy, credibility, and even humanity.
