Q&A of the Day – How Many Lives Have Been Saved by Trump’s anti-Narco-Terror Campaign?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station page in the iHeart app.
Today’s entry: Submitted via Talkback: Good morning, Brian and Joel. With President Trump interdicting all of these drug cartel boats in the Caribbean, has it impacted the United States in any way? Are there less drug deaths?
Bottom Line: It’s a great question that to date hasn’t received as much attention as it probably deserves. Some of this is due to the operation having only been conducted since early September, which means we’re still early into the systemic impacts of President Trump’s combating of drug cartels/narco-terrorists. To date the bit of research I’d previously brought you in late October was this: (The Trump administration had) taken out what’s estimated to be 30% of drug running into this country (through the Counter-Narcotics Task Force). So, let’s dive into this with the latest available info.
A day one executive order by President Trump set the stage for what was to come. The order entitled: DESIGNATING CARTELS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND SPECIALLY DESIGNATED GLOBAL TERRORISTS. The order accomplished two outcomes. The first was to specifically identify the drug cartels (many by name in the order) as terrorists thus allowing for the president to use executive authority to combat them – independent of the legislative branch. The second outcome was to task all of his related agencies and personnel with identifying threats from the cartels and establishing a plan for combating them.
The plan that’s been carried out to date came together in early August when President Trump announced that he’d authorized military force against narco-terrorists. In September, the Trump administration began the campaign that’s since regularly launched military strikes targeting vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, primarily off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. Most recently, the campaign was formalized under Operation Southern Spear on November 13.
The military action against narco-terrorists includes the use of U.S. Navy warships, helicopters, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and emerging robotic systems to sink or destroy boats alleged to carry narcotics like cocaine and fentanyl. As of November 10th, 20 strikes had targeted 21 vessels, focusing on groups like Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and Colombia's ELN guerrillas resulting in 80 designated terrorists having been killed. The administration claims these actions save American lives by disrupting fentanyl flows fueling the opioid crisis. Which dovetails into today’s question.
In answer to the question as to whether there’s a been a tangible impact within the United States to date? The answer would strongly appear to be yes. In comparing drug overdose deaths in September and October 2024 to the same two months this year (the first two full months of the military campaign) here’s what happened (the information is still considered provisional):
- September ‘24 deaths: 7,200 – September ‘25 deaths: 5,500
- October ‘24 deaths: 7,000 – October ‘25 deaths: 5,400
- Total: 14,200 fewer drug overdose deaths (-23% decline)
Notably we’ve seen a sharp decline in drug overdose deaths with nearly a quarter fewer within just the first two full months of operation. The preliminary numbers also wash rather cleanly to my initial assessment in late October that approximately 30% of the drug running into the United States had been disrupted.
14,200 fewer drug overdose deaths through the first two months of President Trump’s campaign projects to greater than 85,000 fewer lives lost to illicit drugs over a full year. There’s been much debate about the legality of the president’s campaign, whether it’s warranted, etc. These remarkable early figures speak for themselves.