In a surprising development, President Donald Trump has categorized the United States as now engaged in a formal “armed conflict” with drug cartels, which the administration has classified as “unlawful combatants,” according to a confidential memo obtained by ABC News.
This determination follows recent U.S. military strikes targeting drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, marking a significant shift in how the government confronts the ongoing crisis of illegal drug trafficking.
The memo was sent to several congressional committees and was initially reported by The New York Times. It comes in light of recent U.S. military operations, during which three strikes were conducted against vessels allegedly engaged in drug smuggling. Significantly, two of the targeted boats were said to have originated from Venezuela.
Legal experts have raised concerns over Trump’s assertion that drug cartels should be treated in the same manner as military combatants, rather than criminals. Historically, law enforcement has addressed such activities, which involve legal protections including due process. One Capitol Hill official indicated that lawmakers interpret the memo as the administration effectively waging a secret war against unnamed foes without Congress’s approval.
The memo attempts to justify the U.S. military’s recent actions, which resulted in fatalities among suspected drug traffickers. According to the document, President Trump has “determined” that the drug cartels involved in smuggling operations qualify as “nonstate armed groups” whose activities “constitute an armed attack against the United States.”
The memo further explains that due to the cumulative impact of hostile actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the president concluded a “noninternational armed conflict” exists with these designated terrorist organizations.
In a prior statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted, “Interdiction doesn’t work. What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.” His comments reflect the administration’s aggressive stance toward what it views as an urgent crisis requiring military intervention.
The recent military actions off the Venezuelan coast represent an unprecedented application of lethal force against a criminal enterprise. Traditionally, the U.S. has relied on the Coast Guard and law enforcement to intercept and inspect vessels suspected of drug trafficking.
The memo references a statute necessitating reports to Congress regarding military hostilities. It claims that the U.S. has reached a “critical point” requiring the use of force in self-defense and in defense of others against ongoing threats from designated foreign terrorist organizations.
However, the document does not name any specific organization. Trump’s previous statements suggested that the recently targeted boats were transporting significant drug amounts linked to the South American gang Tren de Aragua.
The memo highlights a September 15 event in which three individuals were killed on an alleged Venezuelan vessel. The U.S. military actions, it claims, were consistent with the law of armed conflict, as the vessel was regarded by U.S. intelligence as being associated with a designated terrorist group and engaged in drug trafficking that could potentially harm Americans.
While the strikes have been characterized as limited in scope, U.S. forces reportedly remain positioned to conduct further military operations as necessary to mitigate any continuing threats posed by these entities.
This escalation in military operations is a radical intensification of the Trump administration’s attempts to curb the influx of narcotics from Latin America. U.S. officials have long contended that cocaine shipments from Venezuela are a contributing factor to overdose fatalities in the U.S., with accusations directed at Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro for facilitating such drug trafficking—a claim he has denied.
The Trump administration has placed a bounty of $50 million on Maduro’s head for his arrest, further highlighting the strained relations between the two nations.
Members of the administration argue that designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations provides the executive branch with expanded legal authority to mobilize military resources against these groups, which they contend transgresses the bounds of traditional law enforcement practices.
Rubio explained that this classification transforms the issue from one of law enforcement into a matter of national security.
However, experts caution that the legal grounds for this designation remain ambiguous. The categorization of a group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization primarily serves to impose restrictions on financial and material support, and does not necessarily grant authorization for the use of deadly force.
Democrats in Congress voiced surprise at the memo, especially given recent discussions emphasizing the need for the administration to seek appropriate war powers authority regarding such military actions.
ABC News has reached out to the White House for further comment.
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