A secret memo from the Department of Justice that green-lights U.S airstrikes on alleged “drug boats” reveals that the justification for such force is based entirely on assertions made by Donald Trump.
The U.S. military has carried out a series of strikes targeting so-called “narco-terrorists,” with the White House criticized for not providing a specific legal basis for its actions.
The attacks on small boats in the Caribbean began on September 2 and have since expanded with assaults on the eastern Pacific, killing at least 80 people in 20 strikes on alleged smuggling craft.
According to the memo, seen by The New York Times, such strikes are deemed appropriate because of the idea that the U.S. and its allies are at present legally in a state of armed conflict with drug cartels – assertions that the White House has repeatedly made.
As a result, the killing of those suspected of running the drugs falls within the lawful purview of Trump’s wartime powers, the outlet added.
This contrasts with human rights groups and experts on international law who have warned that the strikes are illegal, with the governments of both Venezuela and Colombia accusing the Trump administration of engaging in extrajudicial murder.
On Tuesday, the U.K. ended regional intelligence sharing with the U.S. after expressing disapproval of its actions. U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have pressed the administration for more information about who is being targeted and the legal basis for its conduct.
Per The Times, the memo begins by reiterating claims made by the White House, including that drug cartels are deliberately trying to destabilize the Western Hemisphere and murder American citizens.
The groups are presented as “terrorists” who sell drugs to finance violence against the U.S. rather than simply illegal businesses, according to the outlet. Because of this, Trump has the authority to declare a state of armed conflict against the groups.
A lengthy section at the end of the memo sets out a legal defense, stating that any administration official or troops charged over such killings would have “battlefield immunity” because of the alleged state of armed conflict, The Times reports.
Details about the administration’s justification for the military intervention in Latin America come as operations continue to ramp up. On Thursday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that ongoing efforts to tackle “narco-terrorists” would officially be known as Operation Southern Spear.
“President Trump ordered action – and the Department of War is delivering,” the secretary wrote on X. “Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR. Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and U.S. Southern Command, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.”
Trump’s argument that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels relies on the same legal authority used by the George W Bush administration when it declared its “War on Terror” after the Al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001.
