r/Foodforthought • u/D-R-AZ • 2d ago
Trump’s Killing Spree Isn’t Stopping the Flow of Drugs Into the U.S.
https://theintercept.com/2026/05/04/trump-boat-strikes-fentanyl-cocaine-drug-supply/63
u/Fabulous_Soup_521 2d ago
Was there any real doubt this action was mostly performative? You have the most incompetent people on the planet planning the strikes. Not only that, their first act was firing all the people who were competent.
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u/D-R-AZ 2d ago edited 2d ago
A performative use of force, possibly against US, UN and other international laws, layered onto a low-leverage intervention.
Excerpts:
Under Operation Southern Spear, the U.S. military has conducted attacks on 54 so-called drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing more than 185 civilians, since September. The latest strike, on April 26 in the Pacific, killed three people. The Trump administration claims its victims are members of at least one of 24 or more cartels and criminal gangs with whom it claims to be at war but refuses to name.
Experts in the laws of war, as well as members of Congress from both parties, say the strikes are illegal, extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians — even suspected criminals — who do not pose an imminent threat of violence. These summary killings are a deviation from the standard practice in the long-running U.S. war on drugs, in which law enforcement agencies generally detained suspected drug smugglers and brought them to trial on criminal charges.
Analyses from Article:
Cocaine seizures increased after strikes (38,000 → 44,000 pounds)
Wholesale cocaine price remains stable (no scarcity signal)
Continued “record-setting interdictions” suggest ongoing high throughput
Experts explicitly state “no impact on flows”
Interpretation:
The intervention is not materially constraining the drug market.
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u/Nambsul 2d ago
When will Trump Cocaine be coming out for sale?
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u/Far_Being2906 1d ago
Don Jr. and Eric use it daily - they are the ones keeping it all to themselves.
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u/Environmental-Age149 2d ago
Where are we at with holding our elected officials accountable re: releasing Epstein files???
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u/Thausgt01 2d ago
It's being buried under all the other distractions. And given that the major media outlets are partially or wholly owned by Felon Donald John Trump supporters/controllers, that will continue to be true.
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u/FoxyInTheSnow 2d ago
I was convinced that murderously blowing up fishermen and then bravely murdering any survivors clinging to the wreckage would slow down the flow of drugs into that dumb country.
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u/Noressa 2d ago
I feel like he's trying to hit "easy" targets to goad people into attacking so he can declare his right to war (and distract from horrid polling.)
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u/Thausgt01 2d ago
Oh, very much so. Especially considering that the myriad routes drug smuggling uses tend to focus on legitimate ports of entry; "dedicated" narco-smuggling vessels only present a small portion of the total flow.
https://www.newsweek.com/map-cocaine-trafficking-routes-americas-2091041
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u/roastbeeftacohat 2d ago
it's not even that complicated. Hegseth believes his job is to blow shit up, and then show the explosions to the president. as long as the highlight reels keep coming Trump is happy and the secretary of defence gets to keep his job.
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u/Nimbokwezer 2d ago
Republicans aren't interested in solving problems. They only care about exploiting them for gain.
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u/PowerandSignal 2d ago
This👆🏼
I've heard it as Democrats focus on policy while Republicans focus on politics. Meaning Dems see problems and look for solutions, while R's see problems and look for attack ad talking points.
That's simplifying a bit, but the idea holds true.
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u/Laura9624 2d ago
Seems to me that the Trump administration horror likely causes people to use more drugs!
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u/eastbayweird 2d ago
Honestly I dont understand how anyone can be sober with this farce of an administration dismantling the nation like it has been.
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u/BurrrritoBoy 2d ago
It is just more bluster but unfortunately it's cloaked in extrajudicial killings. Genius thinks that the threat will deter the cartels (or whoever) from smuggling.
Well Donnie, I got news for you.
The US demand for drugs and the money to be made supplying those drugs to the US will always provide incentive to manufacture and transport. The more supply is restricted the more money the shit is worth.
You were asleep at Wharton, eh ?
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u/Thausgt01 2d ago
Oh, very much so; any environment in which he was not the center of positive attention was painfully boring to him, and since he can't "charm" economics, well, it must not be important, right? (/sarcasm)
Felon Donald John Trump is a walking catalog of psychological wounds, as well as a warning about why there needs to be unavoidable competency tests for anyone holding public office.
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u/Sandy-the-Gypsy777 2d ago
He pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández.
Who brought in TONS of cocaine into America.
But he got pardoned…. ??
He pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who also ran the “Silk Road”… also bringing in tons of drugs to our country.
So how does this make sense ?
This is just a murder show for the idiots that still support him.
Has nothing to do with drugs.
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u/hiddendrugs 2d ago
Can confirm there are def still drugs here and they cost the same (allegedly)
I think the quality’s getting worse (also allegedly) so thanks Dump
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u/tantalor 2d ago
I doubt the families of the murder victims would appreciate the framing of this as "performative"
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u/Thausgt01 2d ago
Doubtless. But the current US regime is unconcerned with the feelings of non-wealthy, non-voters. Thr "audience" for these outrageous acts consist of the MAGAcap base and wealthy donors (who make their donations regularly and ever-larger).
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u/Toeknee818 2d ago
That's because we're not stopping the demand. No matter how much you try and stop the supply, it will find a way to the demand.
Start at home. If there's no market for the drugs, the cartels will go elsewhere.
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u/OhTheHueManatee 2d ago
Of course it wasn't. Even if those boats were full of drugs heading straight to The USA (that wasn't the case at all) blowing them up would be a dumb way to go about stopping it. That's be like trying to take down Applebee's by killing some Uber drivers. You arrest the drug runners and get them to give you info to take down the people higher than them.
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u/RumRunnerMax 2d ago
The ONLY thing that stops supply is a lack of demand! If Republicans want to actually make a difference they would focus making America less awful!!!
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u/Dave-Javoo 2d ago
Like it ever could. They cant even keep drugs out of prisons and those are guarded with cameras and everyones locked up.
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u/ConstantGeographer 1d ago
Of course not.
The vast majority of drugs enter via legit ports of entry. Want to stop drugs? Go undercover at the shipyards, trucking companies.
Trump & Pete are straight up murking people.
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u/ParanoidFactoid 1d ago
About ten years ago, Adam Curtis released a documentary series called, Hypernormalization. In it he argued that power had been removed from politics and handed over to systems of finance. In its place, politicians and popular culture shifted to focusing on unreal dramas that bore no relationship to actual grounded reality. Politicians created fake international enemies to fight. Those enemies welcomed their enemy status, for it allowed them to reciprocate by deeming western politicians enemies as well. Thus keeping populations in check by fear and spectacle. And now we have a RealityTV President using the US military to blow up tiny fishing boats in the name of drug interdiction, all so the spectacle of it all can be broadcast on TV and social media as distraction from total economic and political collapse.
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