On Oct. 24, the administration began a substantial military buildup in the region. The Pentagon moved the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and some of its strike group, along with several other naval ships, to the Caribbean and moved F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico. This is the largest U.S. naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
According to the White House, the naval buildup and strikes on boats in international waters are part of counternarcotics operations. The vessels targeted allegedly belonged to Venezuelan drug smugglers, though the administration has produced no evidence that there were drugs on the boats, or what type. Trump has named fentanyl as one of them.
At times the president and some of his advisers have referred to the operators and occupants of the boats as “narco-terrorists.” But they have offered no explanation why the people would be considered terrorists.
The president and his advisers’ own words have also indicated that the larger intentions of the administration could be to topple the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
But as a former political-military analyst and former senior adviser at the Department of Defense, I find it hard to discern a coherent strategy or objective.
The U.S. deployed its largest warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean, north of Venezuela, following multiple strikes on vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking. Omar Zaghloul/Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe boats that have been hit all had origins in, or connections to, Venezuela, and all were struck in the Caribbean Sea and in the Pacific north of Colombia, making the operation particularly puzzling. Venezuela is not a major producer of fentanyl or cocaine. The major cocaine trafficking routes are in the Pacific Ocean, not the Caribbean.
Typically, the U.S. Coast Guard stops vessels suspected of carrying illegal drugs in international waters. In 2025, the Coast Guard has interdicted a record amount of illegal drugs and precursor chemicals in the Caribbean. It is notable that the amount of methamphetamine precursor chemicals interdicted far exceeds that of fentanyl.
After interdiction, the Coast Guard typically begins a process that adheres to legal strictures, detaining the crew and eventually turning them over to a U.S. law enforcement agency.
But the Trump strikes have summarily killed most of the people on the boats and presumably destroyed any of the alleged illicit drugs. Many observers and legal experts have said the killings amount to murder.
Trump has had a fixation with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua for some time, adding to his administration’s focus on Venezuela.
The administration designated Tren de Aragua a terrorist organization in January, along with several other drug cartels. But the White House statement announcing the designation made no mention of any behavior or activity that would constitute terrorism.
Under U.S. law, terrorism is defined as politically motivated violence, usually targeting a civilian population, intended to bring about political change. The terrorist designation allows the government to pursue actions such as seizing assets and imposing travel restrictions on those appearing on the list of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
But the designation of a criminal gang with no clear political ideology or objectives mischaracterizes the group. That calls into question some of the White House’s motivations.
Then there’s the odd incident of the covert operation that wasn’t covert.
In early October, The New York Times reported that Trump had authorized covert operations in Venezuela and authorized the CIA to conduct “lethal strikes” inside the country.
Surprisingly, Trump confirmed that he had indeed authorized covert action. Yet the defining feature of a covert operation is that the role of the government is hidden.
Trump’s fixation on Venezuela goes back to his first term, when he also had Maduro’s regime in his sights. The administration eventually charged Maduro with leading the Cartel de los Soles – Cartel of the Suns – an informal criminal network tied to high-level Venezuelan military officials believed to have conducted drug trafficking into the U.S. The White House has also claimed that Maduro controls Tren de Aragua.
Independent observers assert that opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia handily won the 2024 presidential election. The government-controlled National Electoral Council, however, declared Maduro the winner. If the White House has greater intentions in Venezuela, such as regime change, which some anonymous officials have suggested, Trump has tipped off Maduro to be vigilant.
If the goal of the administration is interdiction of dangerous illicit drugs like cocaine, Colombia is a much bigger source. Venezuela acts mainly as a minor trans-shipment conduit rather than a producer.
In terms of mitigating the effects of drugs and narcotics in the United States, multiple studies over decades have found that measures taken to decrease demand in the U.S. rather than supply-side interdiction are more effective in reducing harm.
With little public information to suggest an overall strategy or objective, legal problems related to the maritime strikes become apparent.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the activities were a “counter drug operation.” But he went further in saying that instead of interdicting the boats, they would be blown up.
The method of interdiction and destruction of the boats and lives of those involved by a military strike presents problems, especially in terms of U.S. armed forces performing law enforcement duties. This would be proscribed by the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits federal armed forces from performing law enforcement activities.
As for actions targeting Venezuela, Trump has said he would not ask Congress for a declaration of war but would notify it of any ground operation.
The 1973 War Powers Act, which requires the president to notify Congress before hostilities and brief it afterward, would apply to this situation. But almost every president since its passing has ignored it at some point.
Though some Republicans in Congress have objected to the military actions so far, the Senate in early October voted down a resolution that would have prevented further strikes in the Caribbean.
The Trump administration continues to depict its activities in international waters as a military operation and the smugglers as enemy combatants. Most legal experts dismiss this and characterize the strikes as extrajudicial killings.
In reply to a flippant and profane response from Vice President JD Vance about the killings, Republican Senator Rand Paul wrote on social media, “Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation?? What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
If Trump and his advisers like Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are taken at their word in scattered statements on the activities around Venezuela, many questions remain, such as why the boats are being destroyed and their occupants killed rather than interdicted.
Trump’s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy, justifiable targets and legal authorization was first published on The Conversation and was republished with permission.
Jeffrey Fields is Professor of the Practice of International Relations at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.
Steiner doesn’t have a permanent address. His letters and packages are delivered to a mail room for homeless people in the building at the Keys to Change campus, a collaborative of 15 nonprofit organizations that serve those like him.
He and thousands of others have received mail here for years. They use the address for job applications, for medication, to receive benefits like food stamp cards and even to vote. And for 20 years, the U.S. Postal Service provided at least 20% of the mail room’s budget.
But last month, the postal service ended its support of $24,000 a year because a nearby post office is “able to fully serve the community,” a spokesperson said in a statement to ProPublica.
Unlike a standard post office, Keys to Change allows people to receive mail without a government ID, a common problem for some who are homeless.
This year, Keys to Change will spend about $117,000 to help 7,000 people get their mail. Although the cost is minimal relative to the nonprofit’s budget, it’s a “crucial part” of helping people exit homelessness, said Amy Schwabenlender, the organization’s CEO.
“It really is a priceless thing that we can offer to our clients,” Schwabenlender said.
The loss of support from the Postal Service comes at a time of uncertainty for one of Arizona’s largest nonprofit homeless services providers and similar organizations nationwide. Keys to Change says it will seek donations to keep the mail room open.
But there will be less money for such services as President Donald Trump and his administration take a very different approach to homelessness than his predecessors.
Trump is calling for large reductions to assistance grants, as well as their restructuring. More than half of Keys to Change’s funding comes from government agreements, Schwabenlender said.
The president has also issued an executive order urging cities to remove people who live outdoors by enforcing camping bans and institutionalizing those experiencing mental health or substance use disorders. The order also calls for ending support for programs that prioritize housing and services.
With funding shifting to support a more punitive approach to homelessness, even small programs like the mail room could be strained. The loss of the Postal Service’s assistance is not related to these budget cuts, but for providers it leaves one more gap to fill. Some, like Keys to Change, said they’ll be forced to do more with less federal support as demand for assistance is increasing.
Record numbers of people are looking for help. Last year, Keys to Change served 20,000 people, up from 18,000 the year before, according to the organization, which is also seeing the loss of COVID-era relief funding.
“There’s a definite air of uncertainty and fear, and that is both amongst providers and among people experiencing homelessness,” said Donald Whitehead, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization that advocates for homeless people. Whitehead expects some of the Trump administration’s changes will increase, not reduce, the number of people on the street.
Carl Steiner opens a box of shoes for a new job at a warehouse. Ash Ponders for ProPublica
First image: Moreno and Joe Medina in the mail room. Medina has worked there since 2019 and was a former Keys to Change client. Second image: Medina sorts through envelopes to find mail for the unhoused community the facility serves. Ash Ponders for ProPublicaJoe Medina has worked in the mail room since 2019 and knows some of the people he serves by name.
A former client at Keys to Change, he started as a volunteer doing odd jobs on the campus before moving into a full-time job in the mail room.
On a recent Friday, he meticulously sorted letters into alphabetized bins.
Paul Babcock approached the mail room window and handed Medina an identification card.
But Medina immediately recognized Babcock and handed him a package.
“Thanks, I’ll see you again soon,” said Babcock, who has been homeless on and off since 2012 and used the mail room for all of that time. Babcock opened his delivery to find a sweatshirt. For the cold weather, he said.
Babcock said having an address has helped him while he lives on the streets. He has received mail from the Social Security Administration, replacement identification cards about five times and chocolate chip cookies from his mother. “I’ve gotten everything from here,” Babcock said.
When people don’t retrieve their mail, Medina sometimes tells others to put the word out so they know to come get it.
“The ones who are coming for their mail are doing something for themselves, no matter how small,” Medina said. Some visit multiple times a day hoping for a letter or a package, he said. But sometimes they leave disappointed.
Medina greeted a woman by name, before retreating to check the bins. “Nothing right now,” he told her.
In 2009, the Postal Service threatened to cut its funding for the mail room, according to reporting by the Arizona Republic. The contract had come up for review because the location doesn’t generate revenue. “We’ve been giving them a donation, and we can no longer do that,” a postal official told the newspaper at the time.
The Postal Service reduced its funding but didn’t eliminate it and said it would create a “public service” contract for the homeless services provider. It’s unclear if it moved forward with that plan. The latest Keys to Change mail room contract appears unchanged from the 2009 agreement, according to Schwabenlender.
A Postal Service spokesperson declined to comment on the terms of the mail room agreement, calling such contracts “confidential.”
When Postal Service officials contacted the Keys to Change in May to inform the organization that the contract would end, they said the agreement “requires financial transactions that include revenue generation,” according to emails provided to ProPublica.
In Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, more people are entering homelessness than leaving. For every 19 new people experiencing homelessness, 10 people find housing, according to a regional nonprofit that coordinates homeless services.
After Tammy Mcauley left an abusive relationship, her car broke down, causing her to lose her job as a housekeeper. She’s been homeless for a year and most recently lived in a shelter.
She walked up to retrieve her mail with her dog, Mousie, perched in a stroller.
“It makes it so that we can still be people,” Mcauley said of the service.
Later that day, a FedEx truck pulled up to the mail room. The driver dropped off two boxes from Walmart.
Medina knew who they were for and set them aside until they came to get them.
Medina greets a man outside the Keys to Change mail room. Ash Ponders for ProPublicaU.S. Postal Service Cuts Funding for a Phoenix Mail Room Assisting Homeless People was first published on ProPublica and republished with permission.
Nicole Santa Cruz writes about inequality in the Southwest.
