Cocaine is no joke, and we should stop letting the thugs in Colombia supply the punch line.

Scores of bombings, death threats to judges, journalists and anti-cartel proponents are only some of the disgusting antics displayed by the drug kings in the South American cocaine capital of Medellin. In that city, bombs have gone off and innocent people are suffering. All this is going on, and virtually nothing seems to be getting done.

The president of Colombia, Virgilio Barco, has pledged an “all-out war” on the drug traffickers after the assassination of a leading presidential candidate. A good strategy, but where is the execution?

Ceasing yachts, houses and playthings purchased through illegal drug money is not the way to wage an “all-out war.” Does anyone believe that this confiscation will stop anything?

What needs to be done is something much more drastic. Military might is the only remedy to this illness. These drug lords roam the streets with armed guards. They live in fortified castles. Their fire power needs to be matched.

We are not dealing with ignorant children who have been exposed to the use of drugs. We are dealing with the suppliers, suppliers who would just as well see these children dead than alive.

Since an enormous amount of the cocaine in this country comes from Colombia, we need to get involved. If the involvement means military force, so be it.