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Dear John, On August 8, The New York Times revealed that President Trump has secretly authorized the Pentagon to use U.S. military force against Latin American drug cartels, including those the administration has labeled “foreign terrorist organizations.” This reckless move bypasses Congress, violates international law, and risks dragging the U.S. into another endless, bloody conflict in the region. In Colombia, for example, decades of U.S.-backed militarization left deep scars on society, costing countless lives, displacing millions and causing deeper, more lasting harm to communities than U.S. addiction could ever inflict. Trump’s plan risks repeating that devastation across the region, as past U.S. “drug war” interventions have done in country after country. As Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and as a Texas representative whose district is directly impacted by border militarization, Rep. Greg Casar is uniquely positioned to stop this dangerous escalation. Urge him to lead the fight in Congress to block Trump’s directive. Under this plan, the U.S. military can directly target cartels labeled as “foreign terrorist organizations,” including Venezuela’s so-called Cartel de los Soles. This label creates political cover for the president to act unilaterally. As Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio told Catholic network EWTN, this move will allow the U.S. to use “intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever, to target these groups if we have an opportunity to do it.” Trump’s directive sidesteps Congress, undermining the Constitution’s requirement that only Congress can authorize war. It also violates international law, which prohibits using force inside another country without its consent or a legitimate self-defense claim against an imminent threat, a category that fentanyl overdoses in the U.S. simply do not meet. If left unchallenged, this directive sets a dangerous precedent for any president to launch military operations anywhere in the world by unilaterally labeling a group “terrorist.” Congress must act. Urge Rep. Casar to lead by introducing a resolution opposing Trump’s directive, to push for funding restrictions on unauthorized military action, and to call for public hearings to expose the legal and human rights risks of militarizing the drug war. History shows where this leads. U.S. military “drug war” operations in Panama, Colombia, and Honduras have left behind civilian deaths, instability, and deepened criminal power. Trump’s plan will do the same, or worse, while sparking an arms race, strengthening cartels, and forcing more people to migrate north. And after 50 years and over $1 trillion spent on militarized drug control, we know it won’t stop the flow of drugs. Turning a public health crisis into a military campaign will only fuel more violence, deepen instability, and cost more lives. Urge Rep. Casar to take immediate action to protect lives, uphold the Constitution, and stop this illegal war before it starts. 👉 Here are more ways to engage:
In radical solidarity,
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