Bringing tactics from the war on terror to America’s backyard

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the U.S. military killed 14 alleged narco-terrorists in a series of strikes against four suspected drug vessels in the Eastern Pacific.

In the case of illegal drugs, the negative health effects are actually exacerbated by prohibition. The fentanyl crisis is itself largely a result of the War on Drugs, a predictable consequence of the "Iron Law" of prohibition, under which banning legal markets incentivizes dealers and users to turn to harder, more potent drugs.

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The Trump administration launched a major military and diplomatic escalation in its new war on drugs, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America and sanctioning Colombia's president. It comes as the U.

President Trump’s military campaign has killed at least 57 people in the waters off Central and South America. The strikes have been widely criticized as illegal.