- Donald Trump's notice to Congress classified drug cartel members as unlawful combatants for legal strikes.
- Determining this as an "armed conflict" provides legal justification for strikes launched in September.
- Critics argue against Trump's justification, demanding concrete evidence of cartel aggression.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels that are distributing narcotics, according to a notice sent to Capitol Hill that looks to give legal cover for lethal action taken against drug traffickers.
This comes after several strikes last month that were launched against Venezuelan boats in international waters.
The notice sent to multiple congressional committees says Trump has determined that smugglers for cartels are “unlawful combatants,” meaning that the military was legally authorized to strike boats believed to be transporting members of a group the administration has designated as a terrorist organization, per CNN. The notice did not name the group.
The three strikes carried out over the last month have killed 17 people in total, but the notice sent to Congress only mentioned one of the strikes which occurred on Sept. 15.
Multiple lawmakers and legal experts argue that the notification is “dubious” legal justification for the strikes on alleged civilian criminals, not combatants engaged in direct battle with American forces, per The Washington Post.
Lawmakers were also briefed on Wednesday by the Pentagon’s general counsel Earl Matthews and uniformed representatives from the Department of War about the legal justification for the strikes, per CNN. The briefing was similar to the written notice.
“The cartels involved have grown more armed, well organized, and violent. They have the financial means, sophistication, and paramilitary capabilities needed to operate with impunity,” the notice says. “These groups are now transnational and conduct ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere as organized cartels. Therefore, the President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.”
What it means to determine something is an ‘armed conflict’
Describing these strikes as part of an armed conflict suggests that they are part of a longer-term campaign and not just a one-off occurrence in self-defense, per CNN.
“Although this strike was limited in scope, U.S. forces remain postured to carry out military operations as necessary to prevent further deaths or injury to American citizens by eliminating the threat posed by these designated terrorist organizations,” the notice says.
The move to deem this campaign against cartels as an active armed conflict means Trump is “cementing his claim to extraordinary wartime powers,” according to The New York Times.
As defined by international law, during an armed conflict, a country can lawfully kill enemy fighters even when they aren’t posing a threat, detain them indefinitely without trials and prosecute them in military courts.
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, said in an email to The New York Times that “the president acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans.”
The notice to Congress says that the president determined that cartels engaged in drug smuggling are “nonstate armed groups” whose actions “constitute an armed attack against the United States.” It also uses the term “noninternational armed conflict” which is a term from international law which refers to a war with a nonstate actor.
“Based upon the cumulative effects of these hostile acts against the citizens and interests of the United States and friendly foreign nations, the president determined that the United States is in a noninternational armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations,” the notice said.
The notice also cites a statute which requires reports to lawmakers about hostilities involving U.S. armed forces.
By determining that this is an armed conflict the administration is equating the trafficking of drugs and associated crime with an armed attack. In the notice it says that cartels “illegally and directly cause the deaths of tens of thousands of American citizens each year.”
According to The New York Times, the administration did not explain how selling dangerous substances equates to a use of force. Congress has also not authorized the use of military force against cartels.
For years, the U.S. government has said that it is engaged in a metaphorical “war on drugs,” which means aggressive law enforcement.
About the strike on a boat on Sept. 15 the notice said: “The vessel was assessed by the U.S. intelligence community to be affiliated with a designated terrorist organization and, at the time, engaged in trafficking illicit drugs, which could ultimately be used to kill Americans. This strike resulted in the destruction of the vessel, the illicit narcotics, and the death of approximately three unlawful combatants.”
The notice did not include any names of the specific drug cartels which the administration claims to be in an armed conflict with, per The New York Times.