U.S. Declares Armed Conflict With Drug Cartels

The Trump administration notified Congress that it has determined the United States is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, designating them nonstate armed groups, “terrorist organizations,” and their members “unlawful combatants.” The memo was presented as a legal justification for recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean that killed at least 17 people. Lawmakers, legal experts, rights advocates and some former military lawyers have challenged the legality of using lethal military force at sea instead of maritime law-enforcement options like the Coast Guard and say the memo provides no new lawful basis under the law of armed conflict. The notice follows earlier U.S. moves this year to label groups such as Tren de Aragua and accompanies Pentagon briefings and increased deployments to the region. Critics warn the step signals an expansion of presidential war powers that could set a precedent for wider military action against transnational criminal groups and prompt further legal and diplomatic disputes.