Donald Trump declared that the United States is at war with drug cartels, which the White House has designated as terrorist organizations. The designation provided legal grounds for U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea carried out last month. The statement was included in a classified notice the administration sent to Congress this week.
The document asserts that Trump concluded the United States “is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations.” It adds that “the President directed the Department of War to conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict”—Trump’s new term for the Pentagon. “The United States has now reached a critical point where the use of force is necessary for self-defense and the defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these organizations,” the notice reads.
The New York Times was the first to report the existence of the document. It emerged after the Pentagon carried out three strikes on vessels that Trump claimed were transporting drugs to the United States. All 17 people on board were killed in the attacks. Despite the lack of public evidence that the vessels were carrying narcotics, the administration insists the actions were lawful.