A war on drugs or a war on terror? Trump’s military pressure on Venezuela blurs the lines
October 16, 2025
Legal experts say U.S. strikes against alleged members of Latin American drug cartels are pushing the bounds of international law. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. military has struck several boats, killing 27 people, after authorities received information suggesting they were carrying drugs. Trump’s administration is justifying this use of force by relying on a legal framework created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. That framework allowed authorities to use lethal force against al-Qaida combatants responsible for the attacks on the U.S. The gangs now being targeted in Latin America, however, are a different foe, fueled not by anti-U.S. ideology but by the drug trade.