Openai/693c5114-69e0-800f-b75e-663653d58116

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gpt-5-2

User: tell me about that bombing

tell me about that bombing

Assistant: What that image is actually referring to is not a bombing of civilians, and it’s often framed in a misleading way.

What that image is actually referring to is not a bombing of civilians, and it’s often framed in a misleading way.

Here’s the clear, factual context 👇

What law is being referenced?

The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) and related amendments in the mid-1980s (including 1986) expanded U.S. authority to interdict drug-smuggling vessels on the high seas.

This happened during the height of the cocaine trafficking era (Medellín cartel, massive maritime smuggling routes from Colombia through the Caribbean).

Did it authorize “bombing boats”?

No — not in the way the meme implies.

What it did authorize:

• 🚢 U.S. Coast Guard (and in limited cases, U.S. Navy support) to - stop - board - seize - and use force if necessary against drug-smuggling vessels on the high seas
• ⚠️ Use of force was restricted, governed by rules of engagement, and primarily handled by the Coast Guard, not random military attacks.

There was no policy of bombing civilian boats.

What kind of force was used in reality?

In practice, enforcement included:

• Warning shots
• Disabling fire (e.g., shooting engines)
• Boarding operations
• Arrests and seizures

The goal was interdiction, not destruction.

Think:

“Stop the smuggler’s boat and seize the drugs”

not

“Bomb people at sea”

Why was the vote so lopsided (97–2, 392–16)?

Because at the time:

• The drug crisis was bipartisan
• Cocaine trafficking was seen as a national security issue
• Both parties supported aggressive interdiction
• This was Cold War–era law-and-order consensus

Many Democrats and Republicans who voted yes later supported much softer drug policies, which is why memes like this resurface — to imply hypocrisy without context.

About Chuck Schumer specifically

• In 1986, Schumer was a House member, not a Senate leader.
• He voted with nearly everyone else.
• This vote does not mean he supported indiscriminate military violence.
• It means he supported drug interdiction at sea, which was mainstream policy then.

Why this meme is misleading

It uses:

• 🔥 emotionally loaded words (“fire on boats”)
• ❌ removes legal safeguards and Coast Guard role
• ❌ implies civilian targeting
• ❌ ignores historical context of cartel violence

It’s a classic reframing tactic.

Bottom line

There was no “bombing” campaign. There was maritime drug interdiction, mostly by the Coast Guard, with tightly limited use of force, supported almost unanimously by Congress during the peak of the cocaine era.

If you want, I can:

• break down actual cases where force was used
• explain how rules of engagement worked
• compare this to modern border / drug enforcement
• or analyze why this meme circulates now

Just tell me which angle you want.