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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   411 thread views

Transnational Thursday for January 29, 2026

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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So I guess Latin American drug smuggling boats have the green light now huh?

For those not watching American news, what has happened?

Prior to the Maduro operation, the US Navy was blowing up alleged smuggling boats in the Carribean and Eastern Pacific every week. The speculation was that the purpose of these was to put pressure on the Maduro regime. After Maduro was captured, they seem to have quietly stopped.

According to Wikipedia, there was one strike in the Pacific on January 23, so I guess it's a yellow light.

Maybe the drug smugglers got the message and stopped using that route, or reduced its usage, at least in the places where they can easily be intercepted and blown up? I mean, those people are not dumb, they should be used to adapting quickly.

Maybe the strikes continue, but US Navy is not announcing them anymore and keeps the snuff footage for themselves instead of proudly displaying it online. There are always many possibilities, only when, decades ahead, archives open, history nerds might start patching together what was actually happening.

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