A recent U.S. military operation in Nigeria, timed just after a new policy announcement from the Trump administration, underscores the Pentagon’s latest approach: merging counterterrorism with the war on drugs. The success in targeting a top Islamic State commander raises questions, however, about whether conflating these two distinct missions ultimately weakens them both.

U.S. forces allegedly killed six drug smugglers off the Venezuelan coast, President Donald Trump announced. Multiple sources, including The Washington Post and BBC, reported the operation as part of a renewed campaign against the narcotics trade.

A Venezuelan boat allegedly used by drug traffickers was destroyed in a US military strike that killed 11 people. Vice President JD Vance praised the attack, prompting Senator Rand Paul to accuse him of a “disdain for human life.”