The Dangers of Trump’s New ‘Forever War’ on Alleged Drug Traffickers
So far, extrajudicial U.S. strikes on alleged “drug boats” have killed over 70 people in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. In a series of appearances, IPS Drug Policy expert Sanho Tree has warned about the dangers of this approach.
“There’s a reason we shouldn’t allow our drug warriors to act as judge, jury and executioner,” Sanho said in a briefing to congressional staffers. “It’s because they have made many, many tragic mistakes in the past, and ended up killing lots of civilians.”
The Trump administration has called the victims of these strikes “narcoterrorists,” but Sanho says “there’s no such thing as ‘narco-terrorism,’” as he told Filter Mag. “These are fisherfolk. … They are the furthest thing from ‘terrorists.’” By proclaiming an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, Sanho warns the Daily Beast, “Trump is trying to apply this new military doctrine against an enemy who is quite literally incapable of surrender.” That, he says, “is, by its very definition, a forever war.”
All the while, real public health concerns go unaddressed.
“Drug overdoses and drug abuse are public health problems, and we don’t fix those by using bombs and military policies,” Sanho tells Al Jazeera Inside Story. “If you want to look at what the real killers are in the country, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 480,000 Americans will die from tobacco-related deaths this year — that is far more than all alcohol and all illicit drugs combined.”
Watch and read Sanho’s recent interviews on the subject below:
KBOO/Shape of Things to Come 10/22
