January 1, Trump’s Navy Strikes Drug Cartel Boat off Colombia

Wyatt’s Take

• Trump’s team sinks drug-smuggler boat in Pacific.
• Military expands fight against cartels beyond Caribbean.
• Critics question president’s power to strike at sea.

The Trump administration just took down a cartel boat off Colombia’s Pacific coast. This is the first time the military hit a target outside the usual Caribbean zone.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the strike sank the vessel and killed two narco-terrorists. No U.S. servicemen were harmed in the attack.

“Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.”

The military says this is their eighth strike targeting drug runners, and it marks a new push against those trying to move drugs by sea. The strike happened in international waters, with the vessel following a well-known drug route.

Hegseth sent a clear message: “Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores, will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere.” He compared the cartels to enemies like Al Qaeda and promised there would be “no refuge or forgiveness—only justice.”

Reports say 34 people have died from these strikes so far. The Trump administration calls groups like the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang foreign terrorist organizations and says the fight will keep going.

Some Democrats are pushing back, asking if the president should have the power to order these strikes. Congressman Adam Smith wants Congress to look into it, and groups like the ACLU are trying to get legal documents on why these moves are allowed.

Drug deaths in the U.S. keep climbing, but critics focus on the strikes themselves. The ACLU calls them “murder, pure and simple,” and wants the public to know how government justifies the actions.

Wyatt Matters

Middle America knows the real damage these cartels bring to our communities and families. Folks out here just want safe streets and accountability for those who poison our sons and daughters.

Read more