US Drone Strike Discovers 'Poor People' Exist in Caribbean
The Guardian highlighted relatives mourning two Trinidadian men, Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, allegedly killed in a US military strike on a 'drug boat' off Venezuela. They quote relatives saying 'Trump is killing poor people' without due process. While tragic, this framing makes it sound like a rogue Trump act, rather than a continuation of US foreign policy. For decades, US military operations,
under various administrations, have projected power far beyond its borders, often with devastating consequences for 'poor people' who lack access to US courts. One might wonder: since when does the US military require Venezuelan or Trinidadian 'due process' to launch a strike in international waters—or rather, waters the US deems within its operational scope? This incident isn't an anomaly; it's a
feature of American exceptionalism, where jurisdiction bows to 'national security' imperatives. The real story isn't the victims' lack of due process, it's the US's unconstrained definition of justice, applied with military might, regardless of who occupies the White House.