Should the U.S. Militarize the War on Drugs?

Open to Debate

News, Education, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

he Trump administration is taking the War on Drugs in a bold direction, using aircraft carriers, intelligence networks, and direct military strikes to target alleged smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Supporters of militarization argue that previous strategies to stop cartels have failed, and only aggressive deterrence will stop the crisis. Others warn that militarization usually fails to stop drug flows, risking civilian casualties, and rarely achieves lasting results. Now we debate: Should the U.S. Militarize the War on Drugs? Arguing Yes: Sean McFate, Author and Professor of Strategy at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service Andrés Martínez-Fernández, Senior Policy Analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation's Allison Center for National Security Arguing No: Will Freeman, Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Aileen Teague, Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates Visit our Substack to watch more insightful debates and subscribe to our newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It should be called not the war on drugs, but the war on thugs.
0:03.9	We still haven't talked about the fact that fentanyl is what's causing U.S. overdoses,
0:08.9	not Caribbean cocaine routes.
0:10.8	Whether or not you're going to convince people to stop drugs is always going to be highly limited
0:16.8	as a way of addressing this threat.
0:19.2	I don't think that we've seen a tough approach on narco corruption.
0:21.8	I don't think we've ever seen those diplomatic clubs come off.
0:24.9	This is open to debate.
0:26.2	I'm John Donvan.
0:27.1	Hello, everyone.
0:27.9	Welcome to a debate around an American military operation that continues to unfold,
0:31.7	even as we debated.
0:33.1	Off the coast of Venezuela, the U.S. has carried out close to a dozen deadly strikes against
0:38.3	boats that the Trump administration says have been faring narcotics bound for the U.S. market.
0:43.3	In terms of what has long been called the war on drugs, this is the closest to actual war we've ever spent before,
0:50.3	an escalation that includes the largest concentration of U.S. warships and personnel in the Caribbean Sea since the Cuban missile crisis 64 years ago.
0:58.4	Opinion is divided on whether this action makes tactical or strategic sense and on whether it's the beginning of a solution or something the U.S. will come to regret doing.
1:07.6	We are here at the New York Office of the Council on Foreign Relations, our partner for
1:11.4	this episode, to hear people who care and think and know about the situation, argue about the choices
1:17.4	made and the choices to come. The question we are debating, should the U.S. militarize the war on
1:23.7	drugs? We have four superbly qualified debaters. Let's welcome them to the stage.
1:28.4	Arguing, yes, the U.S. should militarize the war on drugs. I want to welcome Sean McFaite
	...

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