PBS News Hour: Diplomatic Questions Surround U.S. Strikes on Drug Smugglers

Sep 4, 2025

This video interview first appeared on PBS.org.

Michael Brown, Director of Global Counter-Narcotics Technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices, appeared on PBS NewsHour to discuss the Trump administration’s new strategy of using military force against drug cartels in the Caribbean. In a moderated conversation with journalist Nick Schifrin. Brown discussed his opinion about how cartels pose a terrorist-level threat due to the devastation caused by fentanyl and cocaine trafficking. He explained the consequences of these military strikes as a necessary escalation to degrade cartel networks and protect American lives. The segment highlights the urgent debate over how the U.S. should respond to the evolving threat of narco-terrorism.

 

Views expressed in this interview are the opinions of the correspondent and guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

 

 

Michael W. Brown is the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices. He has a distinguished career spanning more than 32 years as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He served as the country attaché in India and Myanmar; During his tour in Myanmar, he provided foreign advisory support for counter narcotic enforcement that, to date, has resulted in the interdiction of over US$250 million in precursor chemicals and implementing the regions first use of Raman spectroscopy to degrade the supply chain for narcotics production. He was also part of a special specialized counter narcotics unit operating in the jungles of South America tasked with locating and destroying drug labs and narcotic supply chains. Most recently he was the DEA Headquarters staff coordinator for the Office of Foreign Operations for the Middle East-Europe-Afghanistan-India. Michael is a graduate of the United States Ranger Training Battalion and has a master’s degree in interdisciplinary technology and management from the University of Eastern Michigan.

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