America First Armada Now Surging to Counter Drug Traffickers

Detonating drug-smuggling speedboats seems like a good idea, especially at a time when one speedboat full of fentanyl can carry enough to kill thousands upon thousands of Americans - and at a time when fentanyl overdoses are becoming a serious problem, especially in our urban areas.

The War Department, under Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and at the behest of President Trump, has been intercepting these boats and acquainting their crews with Davey Jones' Locker. A surge of ships into the Caribbean makes it look like these efforts are about to get a boost.

President Donald Trump has made it clear that his administration’s intent to target narco-terrorists in the region to help curb the flow of drugs into the country.
Last month, it was announced that the newest and largest U.S. Navy Aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, and its strike group would be transiting to the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility in the Caribbean.
Ahead of the Ford’s arrival, several naval ships are already in the region, including the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, according to the U.S. Naval Institute—the Iwo Jima, a Wasp-class amphibious ship, among the larger classes of ships in the Navy.
The Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group deployed in August, carrying over 4,500 sailors and Marines, according to the Department of War. The group includes the Iwo Jima, USS Fort Lauderdale, USS San Antonio, and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
As of early this week, the USNI reported that, in addition to the group, three Navy guided-missile destroyers are operating in the Caribbean, including the USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely, and USS Stockdale. In addition, USNI reported the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and the USS Wichita (LCS-13) are operating in the Caribbean.

This is putting a lot of steel between the drug smugglers and the United States.

But there may be another motivation for this move. Russia and China have been making some moves in the region as well, with Russia aligning itself with Venezuela, from whence a lot of these illegal drugs flow. My friend and colleague streiff brought us that news earlier in November:

The Secretary of War notes that the War Department is watching "near peer adversaries" in the area. The United States only has two near-peer adversaries: China and Russia.

Hegseth told The Center Square last month at an event in the White House that the Department of War is keeping its eyes on adversaries in the region after TCS asked the secretary and the president if they had plans to expand U.S. Naval operations in Puerto Rico, specifically Roosevelt Roads, a Navy base closed in 2004.
“We're familiar with the location that you're referring to, and we will make sure that we're properly placed in order to deal with the contingency we're dealing with there, and also any ways in which other countries would attempt to be involved also, so we can walk and chew gum. We're definitely keeping our eyes on near peer adversaries at the same time,” Hegseth told TCS.

What all this would seem to indicate is that interdicting drug smugglers will remain the War Department's top priority in the region. The War Department has been tight-lipped about precisely how this is being done, as is perfectly appropriate. The clips of video we've seen of drug boats being dismantled by a suitable application of high explosives give no clues as to precisely what munitions were used and from what platform they were launched. That's fine. We don't need to know that. It's as Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, said in World War 2 about the media: "Don't tell them anything. When it's over, tell them who won."

That's just how these kinds of things should be handled. We can't hide the movements of aircraft carriers the size of small towns; this report proves that. And in some cases, it's worthwhile to advertise such a move, because some Third World despots have been known to suddenly start talking a lot more quietly when they find that a U.S. Navy fleet has appeared off their shores.

But the rest? The drug interdictions? When it's over, tell us who won.