| |  | | On Tuesday, the Trump administration carried out a lethal strike on a boat in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people it labelled “Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists.” Personally authorized by Trump, the strike marks a horrific escalation in the administration's war on cartels and deepened regional tensions as U.S.forces gather off Venezuela’s coast. Though almost certainly illegal, the government vowed it was the first attack of many to come. In a social media post, Trump claimed the strike targeted “terrorists” in international waters “transporting illegal narcotics to the United States.” The post and subsequent communications from the White House provide no evidence that the people killed were drug smugglers or that they were headed to the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initially told the press the boat was “probably headed to Trinidad,” before later claiming it was headed to the United States. The strike represents a radical extension of post 9/11 “War on Terror” legal logic to drug trafficking, which had previously been treated as a criminal offense subject to interdiction. Since 2001, U.S. presidents like Bush and Obama have justified the use of drone strikes and “targeted killings” on the grounds that the United States was engaged in armed conflict with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban—a legally dubious argument that the Obama administration made frequently. Trump’s move goes further, treating drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” that pose a direct threat to the United States. The administration has even accused Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro of leading the Tren de Aragua (TDA) cartel, despite U.S. intelligence refuting the claim. Rubio framed the attack as part of a new strategy in the United States’ long-running “war on drugs.” “Interdiction doesn’t work,” Rubio announced during a press conference in Mexico City on Wednesday. “What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.” While the government’s strategy is not yet clear, it appears to have been building up to the use of lethal force. Soon after taking office in January, the administration announced that it would designate a series of Latin American drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations”—including the TDA—a move that enabled it to treat drug smuggling as subject to wartime rules, and not usual law enforcement procedures. Then in March, the government issued a decree stating the TDA was “invading” the country In August, Trump signed a secret directive ordering the Pentagon to begin using military force against drug cartels. The strike has sent shockwaves through the region, alarming Mexican leaders and prompting speculation that the buildup of U.S. troops along the Venezuelan coast is part of a regime-change operation. While Washington insists the deployment of more than 4,000 service members to the southern Caribbean is part of anti-drug trafficking efforts, Trump allies have openly championed the move as a step towards ousting Maduro from power. Whether the individuals killed were in fact drug smuggled remains unverified. What is clear is that the administration has crossed into blatantly illegal actions—and signalled that more are likely to come soon. |
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| | | | NACLA's Fall 2025 issue, Green Capitalism in the Americas, has arrived in print! Guest edited by Sabrina Fernandes and Breno Bringel, the fall issue critically examines the rise of green capitalism in the Americas in the lead-up to COP30 in Belém in November. In this urgent issue, we analyze how the logics and instruments of green capitalism are shaping policy and territory, enabling new forms of dispossession, and deepening historical inequalities. The issue also highlights the movements, communities, and visions from below that challenge these false solutions and point the way toward a just ecosocial transition. Read the full editors' introduction and explore more from the issue. Print copies will be in the mail soon. Not a subscriber and want to order an individual copy of this important issue? Email jchandler@nacla.org to submit an order request. Please also consider making a donation to help sustain this work. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | In addition to an Energy Independence Plaza that provides solar-powered energy to the public free of charge, Casa Pueblo also runs a solar-powered cinema, radio station, café, and innovation lab in the town of Adjuntas in Puerto Rico. From "Puerto Rico’s Fight for Energy Independence," an article by Jesse Ilan Kornbluth from NACLA's Fall 2025 issue. (Jesse Ilan Kornbluth). |
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ECUADOR’S NARCOTERRORISTS—During his one day visit to Ecuador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States would designate the country’s two largest gangs—Los Lobos and Los Choneros—as foreign terrorist organizations. He framed the move as part of Trump’s broader “war on killers” and a “war on terror.” During his visit, Rubio and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld also announced new security agreements, including $6 million for drones, and pledges to expand collaboration on migration and free trade. Rubio also signalled openness to re-establishing a U.S. military base in Ecuador, a move supported by Noboa but barred under the country’s constitution, which explicitly prohibits the presence of foreign militaries. In June, the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment to allow foreign troops, though it still must be approved by the Constitutional Court and a national referendum. Noboa has justified the push by citing worsening gang violence, though his crackdown so far has failed to contain Ecuador’s deepening security crisis. -
BOLSONARO TRIAL—The verdict and sentencing phase of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s months-long trial began on Tuesday, marking a historic moment in Brazil. Bolsonaro faces charges for his role in an alleged plot to stay in power after losing the 2022 presidential elections. While Brazil has endured more than a dozen coup attempts, plotters have historically been granted amnesty, making this trial a break with precedent. It is also historic due to the unprecedented nature of U.S. involvement: President Trump has denounced the case as a “witch-hunt,” sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes—who is presiding over the trial—and imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian exports, the highest rate of any country except India. De Moraes began Tuesday’s hearing by describing Bolsonaro’s plan to install a “dictatorship” and vowing that the Court will not bow to “internal or external threats.” Five justices will decide the fate of Bolsonaro and his seven co-conspirators by September 12, after eight televised hearings in the coming days. If convicted, Bolsonaro could face more than 40 years in prison. |
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ALIEN ENEMIES ACT STRUCK DOWN—A U.S. federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport people accused of being Venezuelan gang members is unlawful. In its 2-1 decision on Tuesday, the court blocked the policy in several southern states, siding with immigrants rights lawyers who argued that the 1798 Act was never intended to be used against gangs like the Tren de Aragua, nor as a tool to regulate immigration during peacetime. The judges also rejected the administration’s claim that an “invasion” by the Tren de Aragua had occurred—a key component of Trump’s invocation of the act. In March, the administration cited the law as justification to deport 137 Venezuelan migrants—labelled as gang members without evidence—to a Salvadoran prison. The ruling is likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court. -
SHEINBAUM’S FIRST YEAR—Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum delivered her first State of the Nation Address on Monday as her first full year in office nears its end. She used the occasion to highlight her government’s key accomplishments, particularly her careful navigation of the Trump era. By cracking down on fentanyl production, deepening U.S. security collaboration, and remaining in Trump’s good graces, Sheinbaum has so far averted both sweeping tariffs on Mexican goods and U.S. military strikes on cartel leaders. She also pointed to the massive economic gains achieved by her administration and that of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO): economic growth has surpassed projections from international organizations, inequality has fallen to make Mexico the second-most equal country in the Americas, and 13.5 million Mexicans have been lifted out of poverty since 2018 thanks to higher social spending and a sharp increase in the minimum wage. Sheinbaum also championed the country’s recent judicial reform and a 25 percent drop in homicides, even as cartel violence persists. Her approval rating remains above 70 percent, an unprecedented figure in Mexico’s history. |
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