As critics decry President Donald Trump’s lethal strikes against narco-terrorist smugglers on the high seas, the silence surrounding the staggering toll of fentanyl deaths in the United States grows louder—raising the question: whose lives are worth defending?
The critics of President Trump’s bold military action against narco-terrorist smugglers decry the loss of approximately 64 drug-runners in the 15 kinetic military strikes on the open seas. As the death toll of smugglers rises, so too does the level of outrage among those critical of the unprecedented military strategy. The criticism thus far has made little to no mention of the narco-terrorists’ innocent victims.
The list of critics has grown to include the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who condemned the attacks during a United Nations briefing on Friday, saying, “These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable.”
Volker alleges the military strikes, which are estimated to have killed 64 narco-terrorist smugglers, violate international human rights laws. Volker made no mention of the more than half a million annual deaths worldwide caused by drug overdoses at the hands of international drug cartels. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, 80% of the deaths involve opioids such as fentanyl.
In mid-October, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticized the military campaign against the narco-terrorists. They filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the Office of Legal Counsel’s guidance and other related documentation regarding the targeting of narco-terrorist smugglers.
In an ACLU announcement regarding the filing of the request, the organization failed to make any mention of the more than 80,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2024 alone. Staff attorney Jeffrey Stein with the ACLU’s National Security Project issued a statement on the military narc0-terrorist strikes, writing:
All available evidence suggests that President Trump’s lethal strikes in the Caribbean constitute murder, pure and simple. …
The public deserves to know how our government is justifying these attacks as lawful, and given the stakes, immediate public scrutiny of its apparently radical theories is imperative.
In mid-October, Breitbart Texas attended a gathering organized by Angel Moms in Texas, where hundreds gathered to honor the victims of fentanyl and opioid poisoning. The event, attended by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, featured commentary by several mothers who lost children to fentanyl poisoning. Abbott lauded the efforts of the mothers that has helped to bring about several new laws in Texas, one of which categorizes fentanyl overdose deaths as a homicide.
Critics of President Trump’s military strategy also fail to mention the suffering of these mothers as they lament the loss of life of the narco-terrorist smugglers on the open seas.
According to a report by Commonwealthfund.org, drug overdoses in the United States claimed more than 100,000 lives for three consecutive years ending in 2023. The number decreased slightly to more than 80,000 in 2024. The data reflects by a significant margin that the United States leads the world in overdose deaths.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as of February 2025, drug overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44. Since the inception of America’s war on drugs, declared by President Nixon in 1971, when 7,000 overdose deaths were recorded, drug seizures and criminal prosecution of drug smugglers have thus far miserably failed to reduce the loss of life to overdose and poisoning.
Suppose the advice of those critical of President Trump’s bold new military strategy to curtail the importation of narcotics into the United States by narco-terrorist cartels is heeded, and the kinetic strikes stop. In that case, the status quo of nearly 100,000 deaths in the United States alone must be accepted as the norm for the foreseeable future.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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