Trump says that we are in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels after ordering strikes in the Caribbean

Washington – President Donald Trump has stated that drug cartels are illegal fighters and says that the United States is now in a “non-international reinforced conflict”, according to a memo from Trump that was obtained on Thursday by the Associated Press, after recent American strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

The congress was informed on Wednesday of the designation by Pentagon officials, according to a person who was familiar with the case that was not authorized to give public comments and spoke about the condition of anonymity.

The move comes after the US Army performed three fatalities against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean last month. At least two of those operations were performed on ships that came from Venezuela.

These strikes followed a structure of American maritime forces in the Caribbean.

“Although friendly foreign countries have made considerable efforts to combat these organizations, which suffer considerable losses of life, these groups are now transnational and are constantly carrying out attacks on the western hemisphere as organized cartels,” said the Memo, who refers to cartel members as “illegitimate fighters.” “That is why the president has determined that these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations and determined that their actions form an armed attack on the United States.”

Pentagon officials could not offer a list of the designated terrorist organizations in the center of the conflict, a matter that was an important source of frustration for some of the legislators who were informed, according to the person.

The laws have urged Trump to go to the congress and to look for War Powers Authority for such operations.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What the Trump administration has recorded on the classified briefing of the closed door was seen by various senators as the pursuit of a new legal framework that raised questions, in particular with regard to the role of the congress in authorizing such action, said the person who is familiar with the case.

While the Republican government is aimed at ships in the Caribbean, senators and legislators of both large political parties have raised grim objections. Some had previously called on the congress to exercise its authority under the War Powers Act that would prohibit the government’s strikes unless they were authorized by the congress.

The first military strike, performed on 2 September about what the Trump government said was a drug-bearing speedboat, killed 11 people. Trump claimed that the boat was managed by the Tren de Aragua gang, which was mentioned earlier this year by the US as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Trump government has justified the military action as a necessary escalation to stop the drug flow to the United States.

But different senators, Democrats and some Republicans, as well as human rights groups, doubted the legality of Trump’s action. They called the potential over -range of the executive authority, partly because the army was used for law enforcement purposes.

By claiming that his campaign against drug cartels is an active armed conflict, Trump seems to claim extraordinary war powers to justify his action.

Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island, the top democrat in the senate committees for armed services, said that the drug cartels are “despicable and should be treated by law enforcement.”

“The Trump government has not offered credible legal justification, evidence or intelligence for these strikes,” said Reed, a former army officer who served in the 82nd Airborne Division.

The Trump government still has to explain how the army has assessed the load of the boats and determined the alleged gang connection of the passengers for the strikes.