Caribbean boat strikes: Most Americans don't support US military killing drug suspects, shows poll

Most Americans do not support the US military carrying out lethal strikes on suspected drug traffickers — a central point of President Donald Trump’s recent Caribbean and eastern Pacific operations — a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.

The survey shows broad public discomfort with the policy, which involves killing suspects without the involvement of a judge or court, even as the administration expands its military presence around Latin America.

According to the poll, only 29% of Americans back the use of the US military to kill suspected drug traffickers without judicial oversight. A majority — 51% — oppose the practice, while the remainder say they are unsure.

The results also reveal significant partisan divides. While 58% of Republicans support the practice, 27% oppose it. Among Democrats, opposition is overwhelming: three-quarters reject the policy, and only one in ten express support.

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The findings come as Washington has intensified its regional military posture, particularly around Venezuela. In recent months, the Trump administration has authorised at least 20 military strikes on suspected drug-running vessels in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coasts of Latin America, actions that have killed at least 79 people.

Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have sharply criticised the strikes, calling them illegal extrajudicial killings of civilians. Several US allies have also voiced growing concern that the operations may violate international law.

As debate deepens at home and abroad, the poll indicates that Trump’s aggressive maritime campaign — promoted as part of his broader war on drug cartels — lacks strong public backing and faces increasing scrutiny.

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Sharp break with prior practice

The strikes, which Trump and the Pentagon have often touted in online videos featuring fiery explosions, represent a marked departure from the traditional approach of using the U.S. Coast Guard to intercept maritime drug shipments and prosecute traffickers in court.

The White House says America is at war with drug cartels and courts aren’t needed in armed conflicts, while also accusing the Venezuelan government of being in league with drug traffickers - a charge Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denied. Venezuela is preparing its defenses in case the U.S. attacks.

Trump has made fighting drug trafficking a core plank of his presidential agenda and has publicly threatened to expand the strikes to include targets inside Venezuela, though more recently the president said he wasn’t considering an imminent attack.

But taking the U.S. into conflict with Venezuela would also run counter to Trump’s campaign pledge to avoid “stupid wars” and, since taking office in January, his touting of his efforts to resolve global crises, for which he says he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

One in three support military force in Venezuela

Only 35% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they supported using US military force in Venezuela to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States without the permission of the Venezuelan government.

With more than 5,000 military personnel and dozens of warplanes onboard, the US Navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, and its strike group moved into the Caribbean earlier this week, sharply escalating the military buildup. That added to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already sent to the region.

Maduro, in power since 2013, says the U.S. buildup is designed to oust him and Trump recently warned that Maduro’s days in power were “numbered.” Trump confirmed last month that he authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

Just 21% of poll respondents said they backed using the U.S. military to remove Maduro, while a somewhat larger share - 31% - said they would support a U.S. effort to get rid of him through non-military means.

Trump administration officials have made no secret of their hope that Maduro’s generals and others will turn on him. In August, the U.S. doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted online, gathered responses from 1,200 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

With inputs from agencies