FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 15, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
Statement: Militarization of the Drug War is a Failed and Dangerous Approach
CODEPINK condemns in the strongest terms the latest U.S. military escalation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The U.S. military has announced the deployment of over 4,000 Marines and sailors, including an amphibious assault group, warships, a nuclear attack submarine, cruisers, destroyers, and reconnaissance aircraft into the waters of Latin America and the Caribbean under U.S. Southern Command under the pretense of a new “counter-cartel” mission.
Ordered by President Trump just one week ago after branding several major drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” this mobilization grants the Pentagon sweeping new powers to conduct military interventions at sea and beyond. But this reckless escalation is not just provocative, it is patently illegal, a dangerous departure from diplomacy and a grave violation of international law and the sovereignty of regional nations. It echoes past imperialist interventions and fails to address the root causes of the drug crisis.
- Militarizing the drug war is a failed and dangerous approach that revives the historical specter of the Monroe Doctrine, signaling U.S. dominance rather than partnership. It risks bringing pain, death, and displacement to communities across Latin America. Sovereign nations, including Mexico and Venezuela, have already expressed alarm at U.S. forces operating near their territories without full consultation or consent and have made clear that U.S. troops will not be allowed to enter their territory.
We demand an immediate de-escalation and withdrawal of all combat forces from the region and absolute respect for sovereignty and self-determination in Latin America and the Caribbean, breaking with the long shadow of U.S. interventionism.
CODEPINK is calling on Rep. Greg Casar, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, to lead the fight in Congress to stop this escalation. We call on him to introduce legislation to block unauthorized military force, hold hearings to expose the dangers of border militarization, insist on transparency of all relevant directives, and rally Congress to cut off funding for these reckless operations.
CODEPINK also calls on civil society, peace organizations, and international human rights organizations to reject this dangerous expansion of U.S. military reach and to work toward diplomatic, humanitarian, and justice-centered alternatives to war.
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