The United States has significantly increased its military presence in the Caribbean Sea under the guise of an anti-drug campaign, raising concerns about its true intentions and the potential destabilization of Latin America. Since September, US forces have adopted a more aggressive stance, conducting attacks on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in international waters, resulting in at least 80 fatalities. Despite Washington’s claims that these actions aim to curb drug flow into the US, no concrete evidence linking the targeted vessels to drug smuggling has been provided.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has condemned these attacks as violations of international law, while experts like Cao Ting, director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Fudan University, argue that counter-narcotics has historically been a pretext for US intervention in the region. Reports from the US Drug Enforcement Administration indicate that Venezuela is not a primary source of drugs entering the US, further questioning the legitimacy of these military operations.
The recent arrival of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group has pushed the total US military personnel in the Caribbean to over 15,000, marking the largest buildup in decades. Zheng Meng, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Latin America Studies, asserts that the scale of this deployment far exceeds what is necessary for drug interdiction, suggesting that the true objective is to strengthen political control and economic exploitation in Latin America.
This military surge has sparked widespread controversy, both domestically and internationally. A Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that only 29% of Americans support military strikes against suspected drug traffickers without judicial oversight. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot criticized the operations as violations of international law, and the UK has suspended intelligence sharing with the US on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean.
Experts warn that the US’s unilateral actions and power politics not only violate international law but also undermine regional peace and stability, leading to growing global dissatisfaction. As the US continues to escalate its military operations, Latin America faces an increasingly dangerous and uncertain future, transforming what should be a peaceful region into a volatile one.