President Donald Trump’s Reckless War At Sea
Captain Robert Kelly, USCG (Ret)
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former U.S. Coast Guard JAG officer
National Security Journal
Oct. 29, 2025
The Trump Administration’s ongoing military strikes against alleged“narco-terrorists”, on the high seas, has resulted in the deaths of at least 37 foreign nationals. These reckless, unnecessary, pointless and provocative actions are justified by threadbare legal principles and are unbefitting a global superpower.
I began my 40+ year legal career as a Coast Guard JAG officer. During this period, I was also appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and found myself, on numerous occasions, seated at the prosecution table in Federal Court a few feet across the aisle from soon-to-be-convicted seaborne drug smugglers.
The defendants were typically foreign nationals who, in those days, were transporting large quantities of marijuana from South America to the U.S. and whose vessels had been intercepted and seized by U.S. Coast Guard assets.
Several years later, after a three-year stint on the White House staff, I was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Drug Enforcement) and helped lead the Pentagon’s global counterdrug program from its infancy. I traveled extensively to Central and South America; particularly the (then) cocaine source countries of the “Andean Ridge” (Bolivia, Colombia and Peru). Countering drug trafficking and other components of trans-national crime has been an important part of my long career as has been addressing the many complex issues surrounding the use of America’s military in the counterdrug fight.
Until the Trump Administration, our nation has steadfastly resisted the urge to abandon our centuries-long principle that the roles of the military and of law enforcement are fundamentally incompatible. Our warriors are not cops. Nor are our cops warriors. Military force is a blunt instrument, as has been proven in these recent incidents.
There are some fundamental truths that need to be recognized. First, most illegal drugs (and other contraband) entering our nation do so at air, land, and seaports of entry, hidden within the legitimate stream of commerce. We lack the technical and human resources to do a meaningful job of detecting this cargo, so much of it enters unimpeded. In 2024, a truly bipartisan border bill was on the verge of passing when then Candidate Trump ordered his GOP allies to oppose it for purely campaign-related reasons. The bill contained significant funding to help bring new detection technology to aid in screening.
Seaborne drug smugglers use a variety of platforms, from converted fishing trawlers, small freighters, pleasure craft to rudimentary submarines to the ubiquitous “Panga” or “go-fast” boat. I have seen them all. Drug traffickers are innovative, determined, clever and resilient. They use every resource at their disposal.
