Reports emerged in mid-August 2025 that a U.S. naval task force was gathering in the Caribbean. Its alleged mission was to address a previously unacknowledged Venezuelan “narco-terrorist” threat to the United States. In a matter of months, it grew to include the nation’s biggest aircraft carrier, ten additional warships, 70 aircraft, a nuclear-armed submarine with cruise missiles, and 15,000 military personnel.
By December, an operation the White House labeled the “” in Western Hemisphere history had destroyed , many of which were commonly used for fishing. No proof of drug shipments was found. President Trump asserted that each strike saved at least , amounting to a total equivalent of roughly .
Subsequently, on January 3, 2026, a “” operation successfully apprehended the Venezuelan President and his wife to face drug trafficking charges in an overcrowded Brooklyn jail. Following an announcement that the U.S. would seize control of Venezuelan oil operations and “run” the country, President Trump issued strong warnings to worldwide, including Denmark and Greenland, that similar actions could target them, likely as “narco-terrorists.”
Overdoses represent the for Americans between 18 and 44 years old. Most of these fatalities result from , which authorities say is usually manufactured in Mexico using precursor chemicals supplied by Chinese sources and smuggled into the U.S. through official border crossings. Venezuela is a key for Europe. It plays almost no part in the flow of illegal opioids into the United States. The —encompassing cocaine, methamphetamine, and various illegal and prescription drugs like Ritalin—is responsible for about 15% of U.S. overdose deaths, mainly among older adults with heart conditions. Unlike the sharp rise in opioid deaths over the past ten years, fatalities linked to cocaine have remained relatively stable. Even completely stopping Venezuelan drug flows would probably not lead to a noticeable drop in American overdose deaths.
No matter the White House’s next steps against “narco-terrorists,” experts on drug policy agree on one point: it is practically impossible to lower overdose rates by targeting only the drug supply without also reducing demand. Interventions focused solely on supply trigger the “,” where capturing major traffickers leads to a spike in overdoses as users turn to riskier opioid sources due to insufficient treatment access. My examines how stringent, albeit well-intentioned, actions to curb pharmaceutical companies’ aggressive opioid marketing were followed by a surge in illicit opioid overdoses across the country, again without parallel initiatives to provide treatment.
While President Trump works to portray Maduro as a “” overseas, his administration has concurrently weakened domestic treatment programs for substance use disorders. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA). Consequently, states lost access to nearly in block grants, which included $350 million dedicated to addiction and overdose prevention. Approximately of SAMHSA’s workforce has departed, along with a dozen senior leaders, including its chief. At the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), $588 million in research grants were , resulting in 1,200 associated staff being dismissed. NIDA itself could face elimination.
These cuts are especially striking given that on May 14, 2025, the CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention reported provisional data showing a 27% in overdose deaths for 2024. This marked the first decline in 33 years, a trend that continued monthly, most notably for deaths involving illicit fentanyl. Pinpointing the reasons requires final data analysis, but the report indicated that certain measures might have been effective—possibly among the programs terminated by RFK Jr.
Since President Trump assumed office, the CDC has seen roughly a of its staff leave and lacks a permanent Director. RFK Jr. has suggested dismantling the CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention (the primary monitor of the opioid crisis) and merging its remains, along with a defunded SAMHSA, into his “.” He directed HHS to release a 72-page manifesto titled “,” which did not mention the word “opioid” once. This comes as the CDC had also warned about the emergence of , an opioid 100 times stronger than fentanyl—a dream scenario for drug traffickers.
With no indication that President Trump’s foreign actions will meaningfully curb domestic drug overdoses—and as he sabotages life-saving efforts at home—alternative motivations must be considered. As history has frequently shown, an administration anxious to overturn its may have deployed the military to win a hollow victory overseas while quietly losing the war within its own borders.