US strikes another boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4
CNN1 day
US Carries Out More Lethal Strikes on Alleged Drug Boats in Pacific
Are these boat strikes extrajudicial killings without legal basis, or justified defense against narco-terrorist threats?
Image credit: U.S. Southern Command/X/CNN
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Striking drug boats is the highest priority and best use of American military power after decades of prioritizing foreign interventions over threats in America's own hemisphere. Narco-terrorist organizations have killed tens of thousands of Americans through drug trafficking and operate as state-sponsored tools of asymmetric warfare against the U.S. Using military force against them is long overdue and reflects a necessary shift toward defending actual national interests rather than pursuing abstract global stability.
Anti-Trump narrative
U.S. boat strikes constitute extrajudicial killings with no credible legal basis, and have deliberately killed more than a hundred people without identifying victims or demonstrating any imminent threat justifying lethal force. Labeling drug traffickers as terrorists doesn't create an armed conflict or turn suspects into legitimate military targets, meaning that lethal force must be restricted to when strictly unavoidable to protect lives. The Trump administration has invented a war on drugs framework to justify summary executions with an end goal to topple Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.
Metaculus Prediction
Public Figures
Establishment split
CRITICAL
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© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.19.1
© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.19.1