Trump did not specify what evidence led U.S. authorities to conclude the targeted vessel was involved in drug smuggling. It was ordered by Pete Hegseth targeting a boat on a “known narco-trafficking passage.”
Politico: The use of military force on alleged drug smugglers has raised concerns about violating the due process rights of suspected criminals. Republican Sen. Rand Paul sharply criticized the White House following the first attack, and Democrats requested the administration share the intelligence it used to justify the first two attacks.
“Legal experts from both parties have suggested the attacks may be illegal. John Yoo, the former Bush administration DOJ official who crafted the legal justification for enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks, told POLITICO that the Trump administration has not made a sufficient argument to treat suspected cartel members as enemies of war.”
Newsweek: Trump announced the strike via his Truth Social website on Friday, saying it was ordered by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth against narcotrafficking by a “Designated Terrorist Organization” in the USSOUTHCOM (United States Southern Command) area of operations, which covers the Caribbean. Trump said the three “male narcoterrorists” who were on the boat were killed, who he said were “enroute to poision Americans” via a “known narcotrafficking passage.” He added there were no American casualties in the operation.