To the editor: Regardless of Humpty Dumpty’s assertion in Lewis Carroll’s “By means of the Wanting Glass” {that a} phrase can imply no matter you need it to imply, President Trump’s software of the phrase “terrorist” to home protesters and, lately, to suspected drug smugglers from Venezuela is an abuse of our widespread language (“How Rubio is successful over Trumpworld on putting Venezuela,” Oct. 17).
Drug smugglers are typically not motivated by a want to sow home unrest in our nation; they merely wish to make illicit cash. They’re widespread criminals and ought to be apprehended by our maritime forces and despatched to jail to await trial. As an alternative, alleged drug smugglers have been and proceed to be topic to extrajudicial killings on the excessive seas.
If Trump sincerely aspires to a Nobel Prize for Peace, his actions must replicate that sincerity. This ruthless and seemingly illegal killing spree doesn’t.
Philip Baer, North Hollywood
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To the editor: Rising stories of lethal U.S. operations linked to Venezuela ought to alarm each American. If U.S. personnel or coverage selections contributed to the deaths of civilians, that might not merely be a coverage failure — it may represent homicide underneath worldwide legislation.
Such grave allegations require greater than silence or dismissal. The US has an ethical and authorized obligation to analyze any credible proof of extrajudicial killings or human rights violations, no matter who approved or carried them out.
Our nation’s credibility is determined by transparency and justice. To look away from potential crimes dedicated in our title is to condone them.
Carl F. Enson, Oak View
