Description: US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, published a video on social media claiming that another boat transporting drugs to the US has been eliminated in the Pacific Ocean. The latest attack raised the death toll to 32 from such interventions by the US military and air forces in the region, which have been largely contested on a legal basis. The attack arrives in a sensitive period of time when Trump has escalated interventions in the Caribbean and engaged in a public dispute with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of being a drug leader. The attack also complements what the Pentagon has branded as anti-drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean, primarily aimed towards Venezuela. Last week, Trump announced that he authorized the CIA to conduct operations on the ground in Venezuela but avoided to specify what kind of operations the intelligence agency would be primarily tasked with. The US also maintained heavy naval and military presence in the region by deploying assets such as drones, spy planes, naval aircraft carriers and helicopters mostly used for offensive ground and aerial attacks.
Impact: The military interventions in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean continue to constitute an exertion of pressure strategy towards the leaders of countries such as Colombia and Venezuela through the enhancement of US military presence aimed at countering soft – power influence by China, Russia and Iran in the region. The US has encircled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro through increased incitement of oppositional forces and the cessation of backchannel negotiations positioning the leader in a precarious position to step down. The Trump administration has also halted financial aid to Colombia and threatened additional tariffs expanding the feud between President Gustavo Petro and President Trump. Considering the objective consequences and the expanded potential fallout of a direct military intervention in Venezuela, the US would maintain its military buildup in the region, disguising it as war on drugs while realistically using it to solidify its dominance, influence and expand the charter of national interests by meddling directly in the domestic political dynamics within the governments of South American countries.