The Washington Post reports that the U.S. military attacked a small vessel off the Venezuelan coast last Sept. 2, shattering the boat and killing nine of the 11 men aboard. A camera-equipped drone spotted the two survivors hanging onto what was left of the boat, so the military launched a second missile and killed them, too.<\/p>\n
Todd Huntl, a former ranking military lawyer, told Post reporters that those killings would be murder under any circumstances — even if we were at war with Venezuela, which of course we are not — because killing people who cannot fight back is a war crime. The Rules of War clearly stipulate that \u201cthe sick and wounded must be cared for, regardless of their affiliation.\u201d And anyone violating that order, from the top general to the lowest private, is guilty of murder. That\u2019s exactly what those formerly service-connected congresspersons were saying a few days ago.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, our Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the military to \u201ckill everybody\u201d (he denies saying that, of course) and too bad if that included wounded, helpless men who were only suspected of drug-running \u2013 which is not even a capital crime — and who presented no threat to anybody.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump\u2019s administration defends those murders by claiming they are necessary to fight \u201cnarcoterrorism.\u201d But then, last Friday, he granted a \u201cFull and Complete Pardon\u201d to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez, who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in America for his conviction of conspiring to import 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Four Hundred Tons!<\/em><\/p>\n U.S. prosecutors considered Hern\u00e1ndez so dangerous when he was convicted two years ago that they asked the judge, P. Kevin Castel, to make sure he would die behind bars. They cited his abuse of power, connections to violent traffickers and \u201cthe unfathomable destruction\u201d caused by cocaine.<\/p>\n Among other specifics, they accused him of taking bribes from Joaqu\u00edn Guzm\u00e1n, the notorious former leader of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico known as \u201cEl Chapo,\u201d and of running his Central American country like a narco state.<\/p>\n The New York Times quoted the judge in his case, P. Kevin Castel, as calling Hern\u00e1ndez \u201ca two-faced politician hungry for power\u201d who masqueraded as an antidrug crusader while partnering with traffickers.<\/p>\n And Trump grants him a \u201cFull and Complete Pardon\u201d? Why would he do that?<\/p>\n Trump explained on social media: \u201cTO MAKE HONDURAS GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n Amazing. Stupefying!<\/em><\/p>\n But even beyond that, top military brass are united and open in their opinion that Trump\u2019s approach to stopping the flow of drugs into the United States is stupid and based on ignorance. As one general put it, he is trying to kill the snake by cutting off its tail while protecting its head.<\/p>\n For starters, murdering people who Trump believes<\/em> are transporting drugs \u2013 for which he offers no evidence, and it\u2019s not even a capital crime if he did \u2013 is counterproductive. Every suspected drug runner who we kill produces a family of people who suddenly hate us. Kill 10 men and you create 100 new enemies. And you solve nothing.<\/p>\n Instead of killing the guys who are picking up a few hundred bucks by moving drugs from Venezuela to Trinidad \u2013 if indeed that\u2019s what they were doing — the generals say a far better plan would be to cultivate those men and let them lead you to the kingpins. As a matter of fact, that\u2019s pretty much the standard operating procedure.<\/p>\n And, as the Coast Guard and others tell us, Venezuela supplies the United States with a very small amount of drugs. Most of the drugs shipped out of Venezuela go to Trinidad, where they are repackaged for shipment to Africa and Europe. By far the most drugs reaching the United States come across our southern border, but Trump is not even suggesting that we should declare war on Mexico.<\/p>\n All this just adds to the fact that Trump is a narcissist of the first class. And a misogynist. And a racist. And a fascist. And a multi-convicted felon who is credibly charged with 30-plus more. And a murderer. And an adjudicated rapist. And probably a child rapist, or at the very least such a creep that knew children were being raped and did nothing about it. And, and, and!<\/p>\n
\n