WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch Trump Strikes Venezuelan Traffickers / China’s Big Military Parade
Sep 4, 2025
Mary Anastasia O'Grady, a Wall Street Journal columnist specializing in Latin America, discusses President Trump's airstrike on Venezuelan drug traffickers and the implications for Nicolás Maduro. She highlights the growing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean as a potential deterrent against organized crime. The conversation also touches on the strategic military ties between China, Russia, and North Korea, showcasing the challenges these alliances pose to U.S. interests and security.
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Deterrent Strike Signals New Threshold
- The Trump strike on a Caribbean speedboat served as a deliberate deterrent signal to organized crime and narco-traffickers.
- Mary Anastasia O'Grady and colleagues argue the action shows the administration is willing to use immediate force instead of routine Coast Guard procedures.
Terror Designation Changes Response Rules
- The U.S. has designated some transnational cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, changing legal and operational justification for force.
- That designation and an asserted immediate threat support more rapid military responses, the panel notes.
How Venezuelan Gangs Grew Tied To Regime
- Mary explains Cartel de los Soles as effectively owned by Nicolas Maduro through military patronage.
- She recounts Tren de Aragua's rise from a 2014 prison rebellion to a powerful extortion and human-smuggling network.