U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the Trump administration is changing its approach to countering drug trafficking in Latin American waters. Speaking as he visits Ecuador, Rubio says the U.S. is working with allied countries and aims to align enforcement actions with their laws.
Both outlets report that Rubio also maintains that U.S. military force would be used if deemed necessary, adding that the U.S. would “still blow up ships if need be.” The Guardian frames the comments as a public clarification of a strategy shift after a prior period in which the U.S. carried out unilateral strikes in international waters against vessels it describes as being used by “narco-terrorists.”
The Guardian also notes that the latest boat strike has left three people dead, linking the renewed focus on cooperation to a continuing pattern of lethal interdictions. Together, the reports describe an effort to pair allied coordination and legal alignment with an unchanged willingness to use force against suspected trafficking ships.
