by C W WaldronThe saying goes, “Everything old is new again”. This is certainly true when it comes to the Trump administration and its attempt at distracting the public with its new War on Drugs. Like the previous efforts to combat drug addiction, the administration is targeting a specific population while allowing the elite to escape any consequences.
The War on Drugs began during the Nixon administration. He primarily targeted anti-Vietnam War protestors by having them arrested for marijuana possession. Despite harsh prison sentences for even minute amounts of the drug, the effort had little effect on stemming the protests or marijuana use. Prisons began filling up with those convicted of carrying a “dime bag” of weed.
The Reagan administration created an even more dangerous atmosphere in its War on Drugs. The laughable “Just Say No” campaign was just a smokescreen for policies that tore families apart as mandatory minimum prison sentences were enacted which resulted in many getting life terms in prison for relatively small amounts of a drug. Prison populations exploded as crack cocaine, which was now the drug of choice among Blacks, became a warehouse for minorities and the lower class. The rich were allowed to seek treatment and thus avoid prison time. So, Reagan’s War on Drugs was seen as more a war on the poor, chiefly Black drug users.
Now there is a new War on Drugs. This time the targeted drug is fentanyl, and the targeted population is immigrants. Ever since he descended the Golden Escalator and announced his intention to run for president, Trump has repeatedly blamed immigrants for our nation’s problems. He even went as far as to push the conspiracy theory that President Obama was himself an illegal immigrant.
His 2016 and failed 2020 campaigns were based on halting a supposed invasion at the southern border that was fueling the influx of fentanyl into the United States. The rallying cry of “Build the Wall” became a central part of his 2016 victory. Once in office, he used the declaration of a National Emergency to enact stricter immigration policies while he diverted Congressionally approved funds for his border wall, completely ignoring his campaign promise that it would be paid for by Mexico. The Wall was to represent a monument to Trump’s greatness.
Fast forward to today. Now, there is a new enemy in the War of Drugs. This time it’s the tiny South American country of Venezuela. Trump is ordering the military to destroy boats in international waters using the justification that they are narco-terrorists bringing tons of illegal drugs into the country. Because the attacks destroy any evidence, there is no way to confirm or refute this claim. Due process is non-existent.
Such attacks have resulted in our allies refusing to share intelligence with the Trump administration. This is both a blessing and a curse. Without evidence to the contrary, the administration is free to create any narrative it wishes to rationalize these attacks.
It Is using this argument to set the stage for a hostile invasion of Venezuela and possibly more countries. Called Operation Southern Spear, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has declared the intent to “eliminate narco-terrorists from our hemisphere” to secure the Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.
The announcement specifically mentions Venezuela and labels their president, Nicholas Maduro, a narco-terrorist. But the wording leaves open the possibility of military action in other South American countries. Trump has sent $40 billion to prop up the sagging Argentinian Economy and he hasn’t hidden his displeasure of Brazil’s conviction of their ex-president for inciting a January 6th style coup.
Yet his War on Drugs is decidedly one-sided. His slew of pardons since returning to office includes pardoning or commuting the sentences of 13 individuals convicted of drug related offenses during his first term while calling for the death penalty for low level drug dealers.
Trump defends these pardons by pointing to those made by President Biden. The difference is, Biden pardon those convicted under the harsh policies of the previous Wars on Drugs while Trump’s have been viewed as transactional, as mysterious donations accumulate in causes he supports: namely, himself.
The timing of Operation Southern Spear couldn’t be more suspicious. With the possible release of the Epstein files becoming more a reality, there is certainly a need for a distraction.
There is also another, more sinister possibility. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented that elections in his country were suspended due to the ongoing war with Russia, you could almost see the gears in Trump’s tiny brain begin to engage.
Could Trump use the War on Drugs to suspend US elections? He has already been actively pursuing the possibility of a third term. This could be his rationale. The War on Drugs could spell the end of our democracy.
Chris Waldron is a former public school educator in New York State and adjunct English professor in Conway, SC. He is co-author of Hijacked Nation, Donald Trump’s attack on America’s Greatness, published in three volumes and available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He is a regular contributor to Lean to the Left and all of his articles are archived here.
