The U.S. military’s operations in the southern Caribbean are presented as defensive moves against narco-states and cartel-linked regimes that threaten American communities through drugs, migration and foreign influence. The author argues that groups in Venezuela and beyond have fused with state power, transforming criminal activity into state-level security threats. Targeted strikes and a larger regional presence are framed as preemptive, strategic measures that align with an "America First" approach focused on protecting the homeland by securing the hemisphere.
America First Begins in Our Hemisphere — Why U.S. Forces Are Acting in the Caribbean
American airmen, sailors and Marines are operating in the southern Caribbean for a clear and urgent reason: they are confronting a narco-state that poses a direct danger to people in the United States. This is not a revival of neoconservative adventurism from Washington; it is a defensive campaign to keep deadly drugs off our streets and instability away from our shores.
Why This Mission Matters
Some observers assume President Trump’s America First doctrine means isolation or indifference abroad. The operations off Venezuela’s coast tell a different story. The campaign against Nicolás Maduro’s criminalized government is not a foreign crusade — it is an extension of homeland defense designed to protect American communities.
For decades U.S. security policy often focused on distant battlefields while domestic communities felt exposed. We guarded oilfields and patrolled deserts thousands of miles away even as narco-fleets traversed the Caribbean with chemicals that contribute to tens of thousands of American deaths annually. That imbalance represented a failure of priorities.
President Trump moved to realign those priorities. Among the executive orders signed early in his return to office was one that clarified the primary purpose of the U.S. military: to defend U.S. territory and the American people.
"Every shipment stopped is a community defended."
That focus is visible at sea. U.S. forces are interdicting and, when necessary, neutralizing vessels engaged in drug trafficking before they can deliver lethal shipments to American communities. Each interdiction is effectively a defense of towns and neighborhoods across the country — from the Ohio River Valley and rural Southeast to communities in the West. This is defensive action with reach, not aimless intervention.
From Criminal Gangs to State-Level Threats
Critics argue this is not America’s problem to fix. But that view overlooks a crucial shift: many trafficking organizations have evolved into militarized networks with political influence. They control territory, traffic people, bribe officials and often operate with the backing or tolerance of states that oppose U.S. interests.
In Venezuela, groups such as the Cartel de los Soles and the Tren de Aragua are deeply entwined with the Maduro regime; in some areas they function as an arm of state power. From Mexico to Cuba to Nicaragua, similar dynamics are evident: criminal groups have captured or partnered with senior government figures. That fusion of criminal enterprise and state authority transforms the problem into a state-level security threat — and state threats require state responses.
The fentanyl epidemic taking young lives, migration surges that strain public services, and foreign influence edging toward our shores are interconnected symptoms of weak, lawless, or hostile regimes in the region. Addressing these challenges at their source reduces harm to American communities and protects the homeland.
A Strategic Message
Targeted strikes on cartel infrastructure in Venezuela and an increased U.S. presence in the Caribbean are meant to send a message: impunity for transnational trafficking organizations is ending. For years these groups waged a form of warfare against the United States while being treated as ordinary criminals. The U.S. intends to act preemptively to disrupt those threats before they reach our borders.
That signal is intended not only for Caracas but for any capital that believes partnership with cartels or with adversary states will be consequence-free. The security of the hemisphere is a first line of defense: reducing the hub of instability in Venezuela would make the region safer, more stable and less hospitable to powers that oppose U.S. interests.
This approach echoes enduring American strategic logic — from the Monroe Doctrine to the Roosevelt Corollary — that when disorder in the hemisphere threatens U.S. security, the United States must respond to prevent that disorder from spilling north.
President Trump’s practical test for policy is straightforward: does it make America safer, stronger and more prosperous? Removing or dismantling narco-regimes that partner with adversary states meets that test. Far from detracting from America First, these actions can be seen as a direct expression of it.
Melissa Ford is director of the Western Hemisphere Initiative at the America First Policy Institute.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
