Nine months into the Trump administration’s deadly campaign against so-called drug boats, there is a pattern to the strikes. And a glaring anomaly.
The U.S. military has conducted more than 60 attacks, resulting in over 200 extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. In almost all the strikes, between one and four people lost their lives. In only one strike did the death toll of a single boat reach double digits: the first attack on September 2, 2025.
Since then, experts, lawmakers, and even military officials behind the scenes have been asking a simple but haunting question: Why was that boat packed with 11 people?
So, playing devil’s advocate, would you rather be killed instantly because you’re being human trafficked or let pass because it’s the middle of a “warzone” and you can’t be bothered because there are people with bigger weapons than human traffickers. So the people would make it to their destination and sold.
Personally I’d rather die, but that’s me. I have zero love for captain dipshit, but you don’t get it both ways simply because you don’t like him. It’s not as simple to do what you’re talking about. Not that it’s justification, but it’s just not as simple as you’re acting like it is.
False dichotomy
The US Navy possesses the ability to board vessels and see for themselves up close who the people on the boats are before they reach their destination.
The only correct answer is to choose life.