Someone in Washington is getting way too comfortable with escalation.
President Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night that the United States is “going to start now hitting land” in its fight against drug cartels—framing the move as a response to what he claimed is cartel control of Mexico and a U.S. death toll in the “250,000–300,000” range every year.
Why It Matters
Trump’s “hitting land” remark signals a possible escalation from the administration’s maritime-focused counter-narcotics campaign into operations that could potentially touch Mexican territory or cartel-linked infrastructure—an outcome that would raise major questions about sovereignty, congressional authority, and blowback along the U.S.-Mexico border.Experts have warned potential military action against cartels inside Mexico could be viewed as an act of aggression and trigger dangerous unintended consequences, including displacement and migration pressure.
The United States has seized another tanker in its campaign to control the flow of oil to and from Venezuela.
The Olina was seized overnight in the Caribbean Sea, an operation conducted by the Coast Guard and Joint Task Force Southern Spear, two U.S. officials told NBC News.
The U.S. military confirmed the seizure, saying in a post on X that it was “unwavering in its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.”
The Olina was “another “ghost fleet” tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a separate post. The vessel “had departed Venezuela attempting to evade U.S. forces,” she added.
Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that war was “back in vogue” and highlighted the “ambition of belligerents”, as his own country the United States flexes its military muscles.
In a New Year’s message to diplomats at the Vatican, his first since becoming head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics last May, Leo lamented the weakness of multilateralism, saying dialogue was being replaced by a “diplomacy based on force”.
He did not name the US but said rising tensions in the Caribbean and Pacific were “cause for serious concern”, particularly in Venezuela — where US forces recently seized the president.
https://www.barrons.com/news/war-is-back-in-vogue-pope-leo-says-ec32cc8c