Can the Trump administration, or any administration, declare people guilty and treat them as criminals, absent the transparent legal processes we all understand as fundamental?
By Janine Jackson, CounterSpin
This week on CounterSpin: The US ordered a lethal strike on a small boat in the southern Caribbean that, we’re told, carried Venezuelan drug cartel members on their way to poison this pristine country of ours. How do we know that? We don’t. Who were they? We don’t know. Does it matter? Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?

News media have basic questions to address on behalf of the US people: Can the Trump administration, or any administration, declare people guilty and treat them as criminals, absent the transparent legal processes we all understand as fundamental? Can they summarily kill people based on that declaration? And can they aim that illegal nightmare overwhelmingly at brown people and “enemy nations” without any principled interrogation on journalists’ part?
We hear about the killing in the southern Caribbean, and its various contexts, from Alex Main, director of international policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Recent Posts
Democratic Voters Say They Want Change, But the Party Just Elevated More Hawks
September 4, 2026
Take Action Now Party leaders are ignoring the three-quarters of registered Democrats who oppose providing military aid to Israel.By Stephen…
The U.S. Bombed a Wedding in Iran. It’s Not the First Time
September 3, 2026
Take Action Now The Iranian Red Crescent Society has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the U.S. strike, saying that if the…
25 Years Ago, 9/11 Triggered a U.S. Crusade of Torture
September 3, 2026
Take Action Now But in spite of the voluminous evidence that documented high-level approval of methodical torture, not a single U.S. official went to…
Big Tech’s Debate Over “Open” and “Safe” AI Leaves Corporate Power Unquestioned
September 2, 2026
Take Action Now Two seemingly contradictory letters emerging from the AI industry point toward the same future.By Tim Scott, truthout On July 24,…




