Kudos to the U. S. military for its successful extraction of Nicolas Maduro and his wife from the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
But if Donald Trump’s gunboat diplomacy to stave the flow of drugs into our country is to have any ongoing impact, American troops on the ground for a protracted period will be needed to secure the democratic freedom of Venezuelans and stop the shipment of cocaine to our country and Europe. Trump might covet the country’s oil reserves, but securing a peaceful host country will be a challenge.
Moreover, if Trump is serious about stopping fentanyl from coming to America he will have to authorize similar surgical strikes against drug cartel facilities in Mexico and other countries that turn the raw material of fentanyl supplied by China into the finished pills that have killed tens of thousands of our fellow citizens.
Trump’s America First program is taking on a decidedly militaristic tone, both at home and abroad. But his self-proclaimed positive relationships with the leaders of Russia and China have so far failed to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and stop China from exporting fentanyl starter kits.
Our long nightmare in Vietnam included a coup to install a friendlier leader. A similar interference in Iran heralded intense animosity toward America. Are we headed toward a similar outcome in Venezuela?
Trump has railed against America being the policeman of the world. But he has definitively assumed that role with his action in Venezuela even as he has cut back and eliminated humanitarian and healthcare aid to many struggling Third World nations.
