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Military Actions Against Drug Cartels in Latin America Are Doomed to Fail
After designating multiple Latin American and Haitian cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 2025, the US Administration escalated its stance when the president signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against the Latin American cartels. This unilateral decision, first reported by the New York Times ([link removed]) on August 8th, has now led to direct military operations on a speedboat leaving Venezuela, killing 11 people ([link removed]).
The US government alleges that the boat belonged to the Tren de Aragua cartel and was carrying drugs but has yet to produce any kind of evidence. They blew up the evidence when they blew up the boat, and so we have no way of knowing what it carried, except for the 11 human beings that perished. The speedboat had reportedly turned around ([link removed]), heading back to the coast before the attack, clearly attempting to de-escalate this fateful encounter. These are extrajudicial killings that violate international law and the fundamental right to life ([link removed]), some even calling it an "act of war". This marks a dangerous escalation that does not make the United States any safer. Quite the opposite.
This attack comes a few weeks after the Department of State doubled the bounty on Venezuelan president to $50 million ([link removed]). It is unclear whether the US military buildup in the Caribbean Sea, including this latest action, has anything to do with drugs. Instead, this military campaign appears to be pushing for a regime change in the resource rich Venezuela.
The administration has accused the Venezuelan president, without substantiation, of being tied to the Tren de Aragua cartel and the Cartel of the Suns. The latest UN World Drug Report ([link removed]) does not consider Venezuela as a major player in international drug trafficking.
([link removed])In fact, most drugs produced in the Andean region leave from the port of Guayaquil in Ecuador ([link removed]). If the US government was serious about tackling drug trafficking, they would not be deploying their arsenal in the Southern Caribbean Sea but in the Pacific Ocean.
Map created by insightcrime.org
Blowing up speedboats in the Caribbean, without evidence, will most likely exacerbate an already complicated situation while ignoring the root causes. Drug lords are easily replaceable and the cartels in Mexico and Venezuela have extended their power network far beyond the illicit markets. These organizations cannot be dismantled through military force but through the strengthening of the judicial branch, protecting witnesses and whistleblowers and guaranteeing a free press to expose the culprits. Rather than holding cartels accountable, extrajudicial killings enable Venezuela and other countries in the region to name the US as the enemy and to consolidate their own power.
While the Mexican government reassured its people that there would be no invasion despite the threats targeting six Mexican cartels, the Venezuelan and Colombian authorities are repositioning their troops and preparing for an eventual US land operation. This seems to be a legitimate reaction when hearing the US Secretary of State ([link removed]) claiming that such attacks could happen again.
Quixote Center has a long history of condemning US military interventions in Latin America, particularly in Nicaragua during the Contra Wars against the Sandinista. Most recently we joined a coalition of 37 groups asking Congress ([link removed]) to reject this latest push for war in Latin America led by Win Without War. We were pleased to see the rebuttal by a Republican Senator ([link removed]) who revealed that a drone had blown up ([link removed]) the speedboat, violating all rules of engagement, further exposing this crime as a cold-blooded murder of 11 civilians. We urge more Members of Congress to exercise their power to prevent human rights violations and insist on rule of law and due process.
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Artist Corner
Carla Arocha
Born in 1961 in Caracas, Venezuela to a family of lawyers. She was inspired by the modern art she saw in her childhood as well as by artists Jesus Rafael Soto, Carlose Cruz-Diez and Alejandro Otero. Arocha is known for her use of minimalism and geometric abstraction
In 1986 Arocha graduated from Saint Xavier University with a Bachelor of Science, but always had a passion for art. In 1991 she completed a Bachelor of Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and in 1994 a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1999, Arocha moved to Antwerp with her husband, Belgian painter Luc Tuymans.
Arocha's work initially combined her passions for art, fashion and biology. Her piece Aqua Trace (1998) combines both leopard spots and blood cells. These two very different patterns converge. Arocha went out to work in installation art, creating pieces out of Plexiglas and kinetic mobiles. In 2006 Arocha began collaborating with artist Stephane Shraenen and together they have exhibited art worldwide.
Tremor, 2006
Aqua Trace, 1998
Arocha's art has been shone in The Museum of Modern Art and in El Museo del Barrio in New York, MCA Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen in Antwerp, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Caja de Burgos in Spain, as well as galleries across the US and Europe.
Untitled, 2016
Inside Pink Panther, 2020
In Dark Blue and Purple, 2013
Floor, 2024
To find out more about Arocha's work, visit here ([link removed]).
 
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