After a series of strikes on boats suspected of carrying drugs for cartels bound for the United States, the Pentagon informed Congress that the Trump administration now considers the country to be in an «armed conflict» with drug cartels.
According to CNN, the revelation came in a memo delivered this week, which stated that cartel smugglers should be treated as «unlawful combatants» and therefore legitimate military targets under U.S. law.
«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.»
An armed attack against the United States
According to CNN, Pentagon general counsel Earl Matthews and senior defense officials told lawmakers that the legal rationale for the strikes rested on the idea that «The cartels involved have grown more armed, well organized, and violent… now transnational and conducting ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere as organized cartels.» Adding that: «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.»
«IF YOU TRANSPORT DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!»
At least four attacks against cartels in international waters
The first strike occurred on September 2, 2025, when U.S. forces destroyed a vessel in international waters in the southern Caribbean. Donald Trump claimed the ship was operated by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by his administration. He said eleven people aboard were killed and defended the action by insisting the vessel was carrying drugs. Trump himself announced the operation on Truth Social, releasing a declassified video of the attack and describing it as a direct strike against «narcoterrorists».
A second strike followed weeks later, again in international waters, targeting another boat allegedly carrying narcotics from Venezuela to the United States. The administration said three people were killed. Trump described the passengers as «violent drug cartels» and justified the attack as essential to U.S. national security. He released another declassified video on Truth Social, accompanied by a warning: «IF YOU TRANSPORT DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!» Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed that line, declaring the government knew «exactly» who was on board and what they represented, though no evidence was made public.
A third strike confirmed by the Trump administration took place in mid-September 2025, again in international waters in the Caribbean. According to U.S. officials, the operation targeted a vessel suspected of transporting drugs from Venezuela to the United States and resulted in three deaths.
On October 3, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated in a post on X that a strike had been carried out in international waters near the coast of Venezuela against a vessel allegedly transporting illegal drugs, resulting in four deaths: «Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics — headed to America to poison our people,» Hegseth wrote on X.
Hegseth concluded his message with a stark warning: «These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!»
The strikes sparked immediate backlash. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro denounced the attacks as an «aggression» against his country, rejecting U.S. claims and labeling the operations a «military, political, and judicial aggression».
Trump administration overstepped its constitutional authority
Legal experts in Washington criticized Trump for bypassing Congress, arguing that the executive branch had overstepped its constitutional authority. International observers also warned that the use of force is only permitted under international law in cases of imminent threat or with UN approval, conditions they said were not met.
With the Pentagon memo now public, critics argue that the administration has effectively escalated to a declared war against cartels, without congressional authorization, without presenting evidence to the public, and without international legitimacy.
