Dec. 6, 2025 7 AM PT
To the editor: President Trump is threatening to assault Venezuela and apparently contemplating the identical for Colombia, supposedly as a result of it provides cocaine to U.S. residents (“In Colombia, anger and disbelief at Trump threats of U.S. strikes,” Dec. 3). Cocaine use is an issue for many individuals and drug dependancy can spoil an individual’s life. However is utilizing the army the correct reply?
Based on the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 1.5% of Individuals ages 12 or over (4.3 million individuals) used cocaine within the prior yr. How a lot are we spending to assist these individuals?
Mark Cancian, a senior protection advisor on the Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research, just lately informed the Washington Post that it may price as a lot as $8.4 million per day to function an plane service. The usGerald R. Ford entered Latin American waters on Nov. 16, together with quite a lot of destroyers. Per Cancian’s estimate, 20 days of working the plane would possibly are available at round $168 million. Every strike, in the meantime, costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
May there be a less expensive means to assist cocaine customers straight? Or, additional, is that this even our largest downside? What in regards to the main reason for youth dying within the U.S. — which is firearms, not cocaine? Why is stopping cocaine use apparently extra vital than saving kids?
The fee to fully destroy cocaine trafficking from Venezuela and Colombia by way of naval operations could possibly be appreciable — and I don’t suppose it should diminish demand right here or cease this drug from being trafficked from different international locations.
Utilizing the army to unravel home issues is wildly costly, dangers our troopers’ lives and, given the legally doubtful nature of those strikes, dangers our army leaders’ careers as nicely.
Barbara Snider, Huntington Seaside
