Unchecked Military Strikes in the Caribbean: A Dangerous Expansion of Executive Power

In under two months, the Trump administration has authorized seven deadly military strikes targeting drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, resulting in at least 32 fatalities. While ostensibly aimed at curbing narcotics flowing into American communities, these actions reveal a troubling expansion of executive authority that bypasses constitutional checks and endangers American principles of due process and sovereignty. When Does a Drug Cartel Become an Enemy Combatant? The White House has boldly declared these criminal organizations to be “foreign terrorist organizations,” equating them with global terror groups like al-Qaida. This legal sleight-of-hand enables the president to justify armed conflict under the...