With 17 known strikes since Sept. 2, the Trump Administration claims the majority of the boats were ferrying drug traffickers from the coast of Venezuela and intercepted them in international waters.
Back in January, Trump signed an executive order classifying gangs, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations. This order was previously used by former President Bush after the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Organizations on the foreign terrorist organization list include those such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, and historically has not included gangs or cartels. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even compared these threats to those of Al Qaeda.
The question of whether Trump is trying to combat drug trafficking or topplingtopple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been one of speculation lately. Trump has been previously accused of wanting Maduro out of office.
The Trump Administration, among others, have justified their actions based on U.S. Title 10 and Article II of the Constitution. Title 10 describes the authority of the armed forces, while Article II details the president’s power as commander in chief under defensive context or with congressional approval.
Legal experts say this justification doesn’t apply here because, under international law, drug-trafficking is not considered an armed threat.
The administration has classified the cartel and gang activity as “armed attacks” on the U.S. which warrants the strikes. However there is no evidence that the people in these boats had been planning armed attacks, according to the New York Times.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said these interceptions are necessary to stop the flow of “deadly poison” to U.S. citizens, referring to the drugs allegedly heading towards U.S. shores.
The New York Times reported on Nov. 1 that “the Justice Department told Congress this week that President Trump could lawfully continue his lethal military strikes on people suspected of smuggling drugs at sea,” arguing that they do not constitute ‘hostilities’ under the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
The 60-day clock for withdrawal of U.S. forces does not apply here because the administration claims the operations fall below the threshold of “hostilities.”
The War Powers Resolution divides war powers between Congress and the president, and was put in place following U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War. This echoes former President Obama’s strikes in Libya in 2011 that his administration justified in a similar way, which was criticized as it was carried out without congressional approval.
Article I, Section 8 and Clause 10 of the Constitution states that Congress has the power “to define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the High Seas.” This doesn’t explicitly prohibit military action, but explains that Congress decides how crimes at sea are prosecuted.
Legal scholars and news outlets point out that the administration might be outside their executive authority by facilitating these strikes without congressional approval.
U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk told CNN in a statement on Oct. 31 that these strikes violate international human rights law and called for an investigation.
Even though they were attacked at sea, the stipulation still applies to the sovereign rights that Venezuela and Colombia have over their vessels. He has called for a legal investigation into the strikes, as one has not yet been initiated.
Hegseth said that the boats carried narco-terrorists and the strikes were necessary to combat the spread of drugs in the U.S. He has been active on the social media platform X throughout all of the strikes, providing unclassified footage and commentary.
Hegseth issued a warning via X, addressing those who might be planning to enter the waters.
“All narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs,” Hegseth wrote. “If you keep trafficking deadly drugs—we will kill you.”
The Associated Press has pointed out the lack of evidence provided by the Trump administration on the presence of drugs on the boats and whether the people on them are even cartel or gang members.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the ICC told the BBC that he believes the strikes to be crimes against humanity. He defined this as a “systematic attack against a civilian population.”
The majority of these strikes happened off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean, and some of them also occurred in the East Pacific off the coast of Colombia.
Global criticism follows
The New York Times reported that Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused the U.S. of murder, saying some strikes killed Colombians. Trump has then ceased aid payments to the country.
Trump has claimed that the drugs found on these boats contain fentanyl among other drugs, however the Washington Post relayed that those well-versed in the strikes or the route do not agree with what the administration said. They believe opioids such as fentanyl are not usually found on the passage, nor are they usually headed for the U.S.
Trump also claimed on Oct. 15 that 25,000 American lives are saved per boat stricken. Experts told Politifact, as recounted by PBS, the “lack of information makes it impossible to know how many lethal doses of the drugs could have been destroyed.”
Venezuelan residents and relatives of those on the boats told NPR that they believed those they knew were killed without due process.
The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act permits interdiction and seizure of vessels trafficking drugs, not air strikes destroying alleged traffickers without hard evidence.
Trump told 60 Minutes that he will not be disclosing what his plans are with Venezuela. Time Magazine reported that the next step could be to strike inside the country, targeting those Trump declares fuel the drug trade. They also said the U.S. has acted by “deploying an aircraft-carrier group and placing significant naval strike capability and U.S. troops just off of Venezuela’s coast.”
According to the New York Times, Trump had already authorized covert action by the CIA in Venezuela and has been considering strikes. Russia is ready to provide military backing to Venezuela, Newsweek reported on Friday.
On June 17, 1971, then-President Nixon declared drug addiction a national emergency, thus beginning the War on Drugs. This later led to the Drug Enforcement Agency and the disproportionately racialized criminal justice system, some describing it as an excuse to criminalize Black and brown people.
Half a century after Nixon’s decision, the similarities are undeniable.
