Vice President JD Vance didn’t mince words this week as critics tried to stir outrage over President Trump’s decision to sink a drug cartel boat in international waters. The administration confirmed Tuesday that the U.S. military had carried out a strike against a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua—a Venezuelan-based cartel that Trump formally designated as a foreign terrorist organization, placing it in the same category as al Qaeda or ISIS.
This marks a deliberate shift away from the old, bureaucratic playbook where Coast Guard sailors boarded suspected traffickers with Navy support. Instead, Trump has moved toward a security-first approach that treats cartel operations as what they really are: acts of terror threatening the lives of countless Americans. The move has the left clutching pearls, with critics hurling accusations of “murder” and “illegality.”
Todd Huntley, a longtime military lawyer, complained that “Tren de Aragua being designated as a foreign terrorist organization is a purely domestic law enforcement designation. It offers no authority for the military to use deadly force.” Other so-called experts insisted Trump lacked “international law” justification, as if the United States needs permission slips from unelected global lawyers before protecting its people.
Military attorneys also grumbled about their “independent” legal opinions not being followed. But presidents are elected to make hard calls, not to bow to bureaucratic gatekeepers who treat drug warfare like a courtroom exercise. Americans know what’s really at stake: fentanyl and other deadly narcotics streaming across our borders, killing tens of thousands each year.
Into this firestorm stepped JD Vance, unapologetically backing Trump’s decision. He cut through the noise by pointing out the obvious—drug cartels are a national security threat, not a petty police matter. When challenged online by serial left-wing agitator Brian Krassenstein, Vance delivered a sharp response that left the Biden ally sputtering.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. On one side, the Trump administration is treating cartels like terrorists and sending a strong message that America will not tolerate their poison. On the other side, critics are more concerned with the “feelings” of international lawyers than with protecting American families.
That’s the real debate—and it’s not even close.
