Trump has determined U.S. is in armed conflict with cartels, administration tells Congress
The Trump administration informed Congress in a confidential opinion this week that President Donald Trump “determined” that the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and that members of organizations can be targeted as illegal combatants.
“The president has determined that these cartels are non-state armed groups, have appointed them as terrorist organizations and have determined that their actions constitute an armed attack on the United States,” said the opinion.
“In response, based on the cumulative effects of these hostile acts against citizens and the interests of the United States and the friendly foreign nations, the president determined that the United States was in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations,” he added.
The designation essentially puts drug cartels in the same legal category as terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State.
In recent weeks, the US military has struck at least three boats from Venezuela would have transported narco-transfers and drugs that could threaten the Americans, Trump said on Truth Social.
The opinion of the Congress cited an attack on September 15 which killed “around 3 illegal fighters” as an example of actions that Trump could take by targeting cartels.
The White House defended the strikes.
“As we have said on several occasions, the president acted in accordance with the law of armed conflicts to protect our country from those who try to bring fatal poison on our coasts, and he keeps his promise to take the cartels and eliminate these national security threats to kill more Americans,” said the spokesman for the White Chamber on Thursday.
NBC News reported last month that the administration was considering strikes on drug cartels inside Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denied any role in drug trafficking and said on several occasions that the United States is trying to force him in power.
Many criticisms of strikes, including the Democrats of Congress and certain Republicans, maintain that the administration still does not have the legal power to target drug cartels with the help of the American army and that there is a case of application of the law based on the prohibition. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also a national security advisor, said ineffective prohibition efforts.
