An Attack That Changes Everything - and a Rift Through the Republican Party

The drone footage looks like something out of a dystopian war movie: A small boat, visibly overloaded, speeds through the dark Caribbean Sea. Seconds later, the strike, then silence. Eleven people dead. Officially, they were suspected members of a Venezuelan cartel. But a senior Pentagon official now calls it a "criminal attack on civilians." Military lawyers warn the order violated international law, since there was no imminent threat. Washington has decided to be judge, jury, and executioner all in one.

And yet the White House celebrates the operation as a military triumph. Vice President JD Vance called the strike "the highest and best use of our military." A phrase that struck like thunder even within the Republican Party. Rand Paul, the libertarian senator from Kentucky, shot back: "JD 'I don’t give a s--t' Vance" is what he called the vice president - a jab aimed not only at Vance but at President Trump himself. On X, Paul wrote: "What a despicable and thoughtless attitude to glorify the killing of people without a trial." He bitingly asked whether Vance had ever read To Kill a Mockingbird - and whether he had ever wondered what would happen if defendants were executed immediately without trial. Vance was unfazed and declared: "I don’t give a s--t what you call it." For him, it is "the highest and best use of our military" to kill cartel members "who poison our fellow citizens." Critics then accused him of deliberately disregarding law and due process. The strike itself was carried out by the US Navy in international waters and left eleven dead - officially suspected members of the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Agua. President Trump framed the action as part of a larger campaign against Latin American drug cartels and even placed a $50 million bounty on Nicolás Maduro, whom he accuses of participating in narco-terrorism. Wer die Nachtigall stört gelesen habe – und ob er sich je gefragt habe, was geschehen würde, wenn Angeklagte sofort ohne Verfahren hingerichtet würden. Vance zeigte sich unbeeindruckt und erklärte: „Ich scheiß drauf, wie ihr es nennt.“ Für ihn sei es „die höchste und beste Verwendung unseres Militärs“, Kartellmitglieder zu töten, „die unsere Mitbürger vergiften“. Kritiker warfen ihm daraufhin vor, sich bewusst über Recht und Verfahren hinwegzusetzen. Der Angriff selbst wurde von der US Navy in internationalen Gewässern durchgeführt und forderte elf Tote – offiziell mutmaßliche Mitglieder des venezolanischen Kartells Tren de Agua. Präsident Trump rahmte die Aktion als Teil einer größeren Kampagne gegen lateinamerikanische Drogenkartelle und setzte sogar ein Kopfgeld von 50 Millionen Dollar auf Nicolás Maduro aus, den er der Beteiligung an Narco-Terrorismus beschuldigt.

This has triggered a new intraparty conflict that many had long seen coming: the civil war within the MAGA movement. Representative Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene are not directly demanding an end to the strikes, but they are calling for transparency - not just about Venezuela but also about other sensitive topics like the recent revelations in the Epstein case. The party Trump built suddenly looks divided: On one side, the hardliners around Marco Rubio who defend the course and speak of a legitimate "war strategy" - on the other, those no longer willing to rubber-stamp naked force without congressional oversight.

In parallel, a second conflict rages in the media. Laura Loomer, self-proclaimed "most effective independent journalist on the planet," rants on X against the New York Times, which she claims is discrediting her as a "lobbyist." She sees herself as the victim of a coordinated campaign because she has collected too many "massive scalps." What she does not mention: She too fuels the climate in which violence is seen as a legitimate means of politics - as long as it serves her own camp.

The real tragedy, however, is playing out far from the headlines, in the families of the dead. The government has so far presented no evidence that they were actually cartel members. No trial, no public hearing, no international consultation. Intense investigations are currently underway from all directions. We will, of course, keep you informed.

This strike could be a turning point. It shows not only how far Trump and his administration are willing to stretch the boundaries of law - it also shows that even within the Republican Party there is growing fear that the president could maneuver the country into a conflict from which there is no way out. The rift in the party is more than a dispute over tactics. It is a battle for the soul of a movement that must decide whether it still upholds law and institutions - or only the command of one man. America stands on the edge of an abyss it has dug itself. And this abyss has a name: Venezuela.