America is Back: ICE Raids, Crushing Cartels, and Confronting Venezuela

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America is Back: ICE Raids, Crushing Cartels, and Confronting Venezuela

By Mike Robertson
Oct. 17, 2025

(See also, “US jets buzzing Venezuela and Trump issues CIA lethal cover action order” by Monica Showalter.)

In the shadowy corridors of power, where Democrats have long peddled their illusions of a kinder, gentler America, the truth has finally broken through like a sledgehammer. For two decades under leftist presidents—think Obama’s apologies and Biden’s bungles—the United States surrendered its edge, trading raw strength for rainbow flags and eco-sermons. Wokeism and DEI weren’t just words; they were weapons of self-destruction, softening our borders, weakening our military, and inviting chaos from abroad.

Adversaries laughed as they grew bolder, turning empty threats into real assaults on our allies, flooding our streets with poison that hooked millions. Illegal aliens poured in, draining resources and spiking crime, all while Americans were lectured on “compassion and tolerance.” There is a strong feeling that it was nothing but a deliberate policy that masked national suicide.

But no more. President Donald Trump’s thunderous declaration—“America is back”—during his March 5, 2025, address to a joint session of Congress wasn’t just rhetoric; it was a battle cry. In his second term, Trump has unleashed a torrent of actions to reclaim what was lost, proving that real leadership means defending prosperity and security without apology. Ten months in, the results are undeniable: borders fortified, cartels reeling, and global foes on notice. This isn’t hawkishness; it’s justice.


The Democrat Debacle: Borders Breached and Lives Lost

Many pundits claim the Obama-Biden eras were a catastrophe for American sovereignty. Under their watch, illegal immigration exploded, turning the southern border into a revolving door for criminals and opportunists. From 2020 to 2024, encounters with inadmissible migrants hit a staggering 10.8 million since FY2021 alone, a figure that shatters previous records and exposes the sheer incompetence—or worse, complicity—of Democrat policies.

By 2023, the unauthorized immigrant population had ballooned to a record 14 million, representing over 4% of the U.S. population and a whopping 27% of the foreign-born. These weren’t just numbers; they fueled a crime wave and a drug epidemic intertwined like venomous snakes.

Fentanyl, that deadly scourge peddled by cartels, claimed lives at an alarming rate. Provisional data shows overdose deaths peaking during the Biden years, with opioid-related fatalities surging amid the chaos. By 2023, stimulant-involved overdose rates had nearly doubled from 2018 levels, hitting 8.6 per 100,000 for cocaine alone, while overall drug deaths hovered near historic highs before a slight dip in late 2024—too little, too late.

Experts link this horror directly to unchecked migration, where smugglers exploited weak enforcement to flood communities with poison. Democrats called it “humane”; Americans called it betrayal.


Trump’s Triumph: Borders Locked, ICE Unleashed

The Trump administration had a plain understanding of what to do with all that mess. It has ramped up ICE operations with a ferocity unseen in years, conducting sweeping raids that send a clear message: America’s generosity has limits. Enforcement and removal stats for 2025 show a marked uptick in arrests and deportations, reversing the Biden-era leniency that turned sanctuaries into safe havens for lawbreakers.

No more catch-and-release nonsense; now it’s catch-and-deport, protecting taxpayers from the abuse of social benefits that illegals gamed under Democrats. This crackdown isn’t isolated—it’s part of a broader war on the interconnected threats of migration, crime, and drugs.


War on Cartels

Finally, the White House recognized the real villains. The Mexican cartels, allegedly propped up by Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, which has turned that oil-rich nation into a narco-state. Investigations reveal deep ties between Maduro’s “Cartel of the Suns”—a network of Venezuelan military officials—and Mexican syndicates like Sinaloa, funneling drugs north while raking in billions on Americans.

There is a strong belief that drug trafficking has become a prime funding source for Maduro’s grip on power, with Venezuelan authorities shifting from mere bribery to active partnership in the trade.

What is Trump’s response? Decisive action. In 2025, he authorized covert CIA operations inside Venezuela to disrupt these flows, clamping down on migrants and narcotics at the source. A naval buildup in the Caribbean, ostensibly for interdiction, has escalated pressure, with strikes on Venezuelan vessels labeled as “extrajudicial” by critics but hailed as necessary by patriots. Trump has even floated land strikes against cartel targets, vowing to end the threat without full-scale war.

And why not eye Venezuela’s oil fields? Seizing control could bolster U.S. energy security, starving Maduro’s machine while padding our budget. This isn’t imperialism; it’s payback for years of hostility that cost American lives.


Reviving the Military: From Absurdity to Dominance

No restoration is complete without a battle-ready military. Trump’s speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico laid it bare: goodbye to the Democrat-era transgender experiments that distracted from lethality.

His executive order banning transgender service members, upheld by the Supreme Court, refocuses the armed forces on winning wars, not social engineering. In a fragmenting world, this shift restores the U.S. as the unchallenged No. 1 power, ready to deter aggressors.


Peace Through Strength: Global Wins and Ukraine’s Tightrope

Trump’s might isn’t just muscle—it’s diplomacy with teeth. His administration has brokered ceasefires worldwide, most notably the historic Gaza Peace Deal, a 20-point plan that ended hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Acclaimed as a triumph, it proves America can enforce peace when Democrats only sowed division.

The outlier? Russia-Ukraine, a mess inherited from Biden’s blunders. Speculation swirls around providing Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles, hardly a game-changer for long-range strikes after HIMARS rockets, Abrams tanks, and F16 interceptors failed to turn the tide of the war. Still, a delicate balance should be maintained: arming Ukraine without escalating into “Trump’s war.” Yet, with Zelenskyy’s counteroffensive dreams fading, the Oval Office prioritizes American interests over endless aid.


America Reclaimed: Prosperity and Security Restored

For years, Democrats abused Americans’ rights to safety and success, paving a road to hell with their “good intentions.” Ten months into Trump’s second term, the nation sees the payoff for the wise choice in November 2024. This is America back—not as a global nanny, but as a world power.


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From American Thinker
Link: https://www.americanthinker.com/arti...venezuela.html







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