The New McCarthyism: How the Drug War Excuse is Dividing the Caribbean
As Trinidad and Tobago opens its airports to U.S. military operations and Donald Trump orders a naval blockade of Venezuela, we must ask ourselves: Are we allowing history to repeat itself? Are Caribbean governments being co-opted into a new Red Scare, wrapped in the language of drug interdiction but aimed at something far more sinister?
The McCarthyism Playbook: Then and Now
McCarthyism wasn't just about Senator Joseph McCarthy. It was a system—a method of manufacturing fear, demanding loyalty oaths, punishing dissent, and using vague, unproven accusations to justify extraordinary actions. Let's compare the tactics:
THEN (1950s McCarthyism) ➜ NOW (Drug War McCarthyism)
1. "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" ➜ "Are you complicit in Venezuelan drug trafficking?"
2. Blacklists destroyed careers without due process ➜ Sanctions, asset seizures, and travel bans target entire nations without credible evidence
3. "You're either with us or against us in the fight against communism." ➜ "You're either with us or against us in the war on drugs."
4. Congressional committees demanded that countries choose sides in the Cold War ➜ The Trump administration demands that Caribbean nations choose between Venezuela and the United States
The pattern is unmistakable. As in the 1950s, the real goal isn't fighting the stated threat—it's regime change, resource control, and hemispheric dominance.
Trinidad and Tobago: From CARICOM Member to U.S. Aircraft Carrier
On December 15, 2025, the government of Trinidad and Tobago announced that it would open its airports to U.S. military operations "in the coming weeks." Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been a vocal cheerleader for U.S. military strikes on boats in Caribbean waters—strikes that have killed at least 30 people, with no public evidence presented that the victims were actually drug traffickers.
Venezuela's response was swift and severe. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez announced the immediate termination of all natural gas contracts and negotiations with Trinidad and Tobago. She accused Persad-Bissessar of collaborating in what she called "an act of piracy"—the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker—and described Trinidad and Tobago as having been turned into "a U.S. aircraft carrier aimed at Venezuela."
Let that sink in. Trinidad and Tobago—a CARICOM nation, just 7 miles from Venezuela's coast—is now hosting warships, opening its airports to military operations, and cheering on extrajudicial killings in Caribbean waters. All in the name of "fighting drug trafficking."
But opposition voices in Trinidad and Tobago aren't staying silent. Former Foreign Minister Amery Browne accused the government of misleading the public, warning that Trinidad and Tobago has become "a facilitator of extrajudicial, cross-border tensions, and aggression." He cautioned that the "blanket permission" given to the U.S. military leads the country "further down the path of becoming a satellite state."
David Abdulah, leader of the Movement for Social Justice, was even more direct at a demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy: "This is a warship in Trinidad, which will be anchored here for several days just miles off Venezuela when there's a threat of war. That's an abomination."
The Drug War Excuse: Where's the Evidence?
Here's what should alarm every Caribbean citizen: Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of being "one of the world's largest narco-traffickers" and leading cartels to traffic fentanyl to the United States. He raised the reward for Maduro's arrest to $50 million. He designated the "Cartel of the Suns"—which he claims Maduro heads—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
But where's the evidence?
Trump posts grainy videos of boat strikes with captions claiming "intelligence" said they were drug traffickers. But no one outside the administration has seen this intelligence. No trials. No due process. Just missiles and death tolls. As Time magazine reported, Trump continues to claim boats are "trafficking narcotics," yet no proof has been made public that the victims were cartel members.
This is McCarthyism 101: Make explosive accusations. Provide no evidence. Demand loyalty. Punish dissent. Create an atmosphere where questioning the narrative makes you suspect.
The UN has warned of "mounting risks to regional peace" after the strikes killed at least 21 people. Venezuela denounced them as violations of sovereignty and international law. But Trump's campaign continues, now expanding beyond boats to include CIA covert operations in Venezuela—operations Trump himself acknowledged, breaking with decades of protocol.
Trump's Blockade: The Mask Comes Off
On December 16, 2025—just yesterday—Trump dropped any pretense about what this campaign is really about. In a late-night Truth Social rant, he ordered a "total and complete blockade" of Venezuelan oil tankers. But it wasn't the blockade itself that revealed his true intentions. It was what he said next:
"Venezuela must return oil, land, and other assets" to the United States.
Let that sink in. Trump explicitly claimed that Venezuela's oil, land, and mineral resources belong to the United States and must be "returned." Returned from where? Venezuela's oil is beneath Venezuelan soil. It has never belonged to the United States. This isn't about drugs or terrorism. This is naked imperial resource theft, stated plainly for anyone willing to see it.
The Legal Reality: Trump's Blockade is a War Crime
Multiple international law experts have been clear: Trump's blockade is illegal. Ryan Goodman, professor at NYU Law, stated that Trump's actions constitute a "crime of aggression" against Venezuela. The UN Charter expressly prohibits member states from using or threatening the use of force against another state's territorial integrity. Naval blockades without authorization from the UN Security Council constitute violations of international law.
Venezuela's government immediately denounced the blockade as a "grotesque threat" and "reckless" action that violates "international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation." They're taking the matter to the United Nations. And they're right to do so.
The Numbers That Expose the Lie
Venezuela produces approximately 860,000 barrels of oil per day—less than 1% of total world oil consumption. If this were truly about stopping a massive drug operation, these numbers don't add up. What does add up is that Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, and Trump wants them.
What's At Stake: Sovereignty, Resources, and Regional Unity
Let's be clear about Trump's real objectives:
• Oil and Resources: Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves. Trump has now ordered a "total blockade" of Venezuelan oil tankers, explicitly stating Venezuela must "return" oil and assets to the United States. This is naked resource theft dressed up as drug enforcement.
• Regime Change: Trump offered Maduro safe passage and amnesty for his family—if he left immediately and gave up control of Venezuela's military. When Maduro refused, the military escalation intensified. This isn't about drugs. It's about installing a government friendly to U.S. interests.
• Hemispheric Control: The deployment of seven warships, a submarine, drones, fighter jets, and now CIA covert operations represents "a reboot of gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean not seen for over a century," according to Professor Michael McCarthy of George Washington University.
• Dividing CARICOM: By pressuring Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and Antigua to host U.S. military assets, the Trump administration is fracturing Caribbean unity. Nations that once stood together as a "zone of peace" are being forced to choose sides.
Targeting of Venezuelan Citizens: Collective Punishment
Perhaps the most chilling McCarthyite parallel is how the Trump administration targets Venezuelan nationals. Using the archaic Alien Enemies Act—originally passed in 1798—Trump has singled out Venezuelans for mass detention and deportation. In March 2025, 238 Venezuelans were forcibly deported not to Venezuela but to El Salvador's notorious prisons, known for systematic torture and cruel treatment.
This wasn't about individual guilt or due process. It's the modern equivalent of Japanese internment camps or the blacklisting of anyone with communist associations—guilt by national origin, guilt by association.
Trump has placed Saint Lucia and other Caribbean nations that offer citizenship-by-investment programs on "yellow lists" for potential travel restrictions, citing security concerns. The subtext is clear: Any nation that provides pathways for Venezuelan citizens is suspect. Any country that doesn't fully cooperate with U.S. regime change efforts faces consequences.
Where Do We Go From Here? Defending Caribbean Sovereignty
The Caribbean has been here before. During the Cold War, we watched as larger powers used our region as a chessboard for their conflicts. We saw how accusations of communist sympathies destroyed leaders and destabilized governments. We learned—painfully—that allowing ourselves to be pawns in others' geopolitical games never ends well for us.
CARICOM was founded on principles of regional solidarity and mutual support. The concept of a Caribbean "zone of peace" recognizes that our strength lies in unity, not in becoming a staging ground for conflicts that don't serve our interests.
Yet Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister dismisses concerns, stating that grievances should be directed at Trump, claiming, "We continue to maintain amicable relations with the Venezuelan populace." This is disingenuous at best, dangerous at worst. You cannot conduct military operations against a neighbouring country and claim to maintain amicable relations with its people.
Other Caribbean leaders have called for dialogue and de-escalation. CARICOM as a bloc has urged restraint. But when individual member nations break ranks to serve as U.S. military platforms, the whole concept of regional unity collapses.
The question Caribbean governments must answer is simple: In whose interest are we acting?
Are we defending our sovereignty, or surrendering it?
Are we protecting Caribbean lives, or enabling their targeting?
Are we building regional unity, or allowing ourselves to be divided and conquered?
Are we learning from history, or doomed to repeat it?
The Lesson from McCarthyism: Stand Up Before It's Too Late
McCarthyism ended not because McCarthy suddenly developed a conscience, but because enough people stood up and said: Enough. When he went after the U.S. Army, when his lies became too brazen, when the costs of complicity became undeniable, Americans finally found the courage to reject his fear-mongering.
The Caribbean is at that crossroads now. We can continue down the path of co-option, allowing our airports and harbours to become launch pads for wars we didn't choose. We can accept manufactured threats and unproven accusations as justification for surrendering our sovereignty. We can watch as our Venezuelan neighbours—our CARICOM partners, our fellow Caribbean people—are demonized, targeted, and attacked.
Or we can say: Enough.
• We can insist on due process before condoning extrajudicial killings.
• We can defend the principle that might doesn't make right.
• We can remember that the drug war excuse is just that—an excuse.
• We can stand together as a region, not be picked off one by one.
The new McCarthyism is here. The question is whether Caribbean people will recognize it before it's too late—before our sovereignty is fully compromised, before our regional unity is irrevocably fractured, before we wake up to find we've become exactly what Venezuela accused Trinidad and Tobago of being: aircraft carriers for someone else's empire.
History is watching. History has shown what happens when good people remain silent in the face of manufactured fear. Let's not make that mistake again.
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