US Military Action in Latin America: Secret Directive and the War on Drugs

Secret US Military Directive

• 🇺🇸 President Trump secretly signed a directive authorizing the Pentagon to use military force on foreign soil against Latin American drug cartels.
• 🎯 The order grants the Pentagon authority to conduct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

Shifting Definitions and Historical Context

• 💡 The directive allows for targeting these groups using various elements of American power, including intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense.
• 🗣️ Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated these groups should be treated as armed terrorist organizations, not just drug-dealing organizations.
• 🇲🇽 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum strongly opposed the move, asserting that the United States would not invade Mexico and emphasizing cooperation over intervention.

War on Drugs as a Tool of Geopolitics

• ⚠️ Alexander Avena describes the directive as dangerous, potentially unleashing violence throughout Latin American countries.
• 💰 The "war on drugs" is characterized as historically being a war against poor people, rather than solely against illicit substances.
• 🌍 The US has historically used the war on drugs to advance imperial geopolitical designs, supporting authoritarian allies while targeting governments perceived as threats.

Venezuela and Regime Change Operations

• 💰 The recent doubling of the bounty on Nicolas Maduro to $50 million is seen as an immediate context for this directive, targeting the alleged "Cartel of the Suns."
• 📉 US actions against Venezuela, including economic warfare, have reportedly produced a great depression, leading to mass displacement.
• 🔄 This directive is viewed as part of ongoing regime change operations against Venezuela, combining the war on drugs, the global war on terror, and the war on migrants.

National Sovereignty and Mexico's Position

• ⚖️ Mexico's President Sheinbaum faces a difficult challenge in defending national sovereignty while addressing the real issues of drug trafficking.
• 🤝 Despite past expulsions of the DEA, military-to-military relationships and training programs continue under President Sheinbaum.
• 🗺️ Historically, the US has often violated the national sovereignty of Latin American nations, a pattern that continues to strain relations.