The ‘New’ US War on Organized Crime

President Trump’s administration has made the fight against drug trafficking the premise for militarized, punitive action both at home and abroad. At home, it has inflated the threat represented by criminal groups such as Tren de Aragua to carry out large-scale militarized sweeps to find and deport undocumented migrants.

Abroad, Trump has gone even further, adding 20 criminal organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean to the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list, clearing the path for more aggressive tactics, such as bombing alleged drug boats in international waters, a campaign that has killed more than 200 people since September 2025. But US cocaine seizures are no greater than they were the year before, and traffickers have continued undeterred, finding new routes to get drugs to consumer markets. 

The United States has also reinstated the kingpin strategy, targeting the top leaders of criminal groups around the region, including Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, and Bolivia. But instead of paralyzing criminal groups, removing their leaders often leads to fragmentation and competition for power, fueling new waves of violence. 

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