A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday found only 29% of Americans support using the U.S. military to kill suspected drug traffickers without a judge. This is a shocking public rebuke to a regime strategy that has already carried out some 19 to 20 airstrikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing scores of people, according to a Reuters tally.
The poll, conducted online among 1,200 adults from Nov. 7 to 12, found that only 35 percent support sending U.S. troops to Venezuela to combat human trafficking, and just 21 percent support military action to remove President Nicolas Maduro, underscoring reluctance to expand what critics call extralegal and dangerous.
Washington frames the operation as a wartime response to cartels. Human rights groups and legal analysts have warned that the attack violates international law and risks normalizing court avoidance.
The administration’s recent actions, including a $50 million bounty for information on CIA officials and Maduro for covert operations in Venezuela, amplified Caracas’ warnings and prompted Venezuela to deploy to its defense as a U.S. aircraft carrier force entered the region.
Taken together, the polls and regional developments reveal both domestic political costs and legal-strategic dilemmas. U.S. policies that sacrifice established deterrence and prosecution norms risk escalating regional conflicts while garnering limited public support at home.