White House says it has iron-clad case to strike cartels

The White House has told Congress that the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with the establishment of Narco-Traffickers who work in Latin America-a declaration that seemed to be an official announcement of war.

Last week, a memorandum sent to legislators stated that the United States in a “non -international armed conflict” with drug dealers classified as “illegal fighters.” This follows the president Donald TrumpThe previous appointment of many cartals as foreign terrorist organizations and four American strikes on boats claimed to carry drugs near Venezuelan waters, which killed 21 people during the past month, according to American officials.

The White House says these operations are part of a broader national security campaign to stop what it calls a direct threat to Americans-and insists that the legal issue of the administration is “IronClad”.

“The president behaved in line with the armed conflict law to protect our country from those who try to bring the deadly poison to our beaches, and he provides his promise to take over the cartridges and eliminate these national security threats to kill more Americans,” journalist Deputy Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement.

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On Friday, War Minister Betty Higseth said that President Donald Trump is a deadly strike on a boat suspected of drug blogging. (Secwar/x)

A White House official confirmed that the report “does not convey any new information,” noting that he followed a blow on September 15 against a designated terrorist organization after previous operations in Caribbean.

Immediately after handing over the report, the Ministry of War carried out its fourth strike on the suspects in the Caribbean, killing four in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.

Trump wrote on the social truth: “A boat loaded with enough drugs was stopped to kill between 25 to 50 thousand people, early this morning off the coast of Venezuela, from entering American territory.”

From law enforcement to the model of wartime

The new memorandum effectively transmits American operations against drug gangs from the law enforcement model-arrests and trials-to a model of wartime that allows deadly power and detention without trial. Like the post -11/11 war on terrorism, the administration argues that drug gangs are “illegal fighters” and can be targeted militarily instead of treating them as criminals.

Administration officials maintain that this approach is justified by law, while critics warn that it extends the presidential authority.

Trump agrees to military action against Latin American carts, classified as terrorist organizations

Legal and constitutional questions

Under Article Two of the Constitution, presidents may use force to repel sudden attacks. The Trump administration argues that the drugs that have killed more than 100,000 Americans annually in recent years pose an urgent national threat, giving power to strikes.

But national security lawyers say this authority is limited.

“This is far from declaring a continuous series of strikes,” Written by Professor of Law in Georgetown Marti Ledman, who argued that this campaign would reach “war in the constitutional sense” and thus require the approval of Congress.

Video footage showed a ship shortly before its destruction from Venezuela on September 2, 2025. (Realdonaldtrump via social truth)

National Security lawyer Irina Tsukarman said that the administration’s framing indicates a folded campaign and an attempt to assert the presidential authority unilaterally.

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“He says he does not even need to go to Congress, because he takes action against these illegal fighters, and it will be a long -term process, just as with the war on terror,” she said.

As you noticed, unlike Base Or ISIS, there is no permission to use the military force of the katralets.

“The president only has the authority to continue strikes for 60 days,” she added. “Beyond that, Congress must agree.” This means that the 60-day war watch is already working-it started with the first strike on September 2. Unless Congress behaves, this power ends in early November.

So far, Democratic leaders questioned the scope of strikes but have not moved to prevent them. Senator Chris Murphy claimed Di Kun. Trump’s advisers pushed him towards war.

He wrote last month: “It seems that the irrigated war narratives, around Trump – who convinced him of changing the name of the Ministry of Defense – is now trying to go to Venezuela in a war that no one wants,” he wrote last month.

Regional strategy and Venezuela

Pedro Garmondia, Managing Director of The Pinafore Group Risk Company and a former representative of the temporary government of Venezuela in the American Organization of States, the International Authority for Western Football Countriesand He said that strikes should be seen less as isolated processes of decision and more as part of a larger regional message.

“For years, the regime in Venezuela used its relations with drug trafficking organizations and international terrorist groups such as Hezbollah to support itself and destabilize its competitors,” Garmondia said. “It is better to understand this as an extension of the doctrine of Bush. It allows Trump to control the Caribbean Sea, a big way for drugs, while also sending messages to Iran, China and Russia – all of them have a fingerprint in Venezuela.”

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Garmondia has argued that by dealing with the cartals as non -state fighters, the administration also indicates that the Nicholas Maduro regime is not a legitimate government, but rather a “coma giant” preserved by foreign sponsors and criminal institutions.

“Cartlatat leaders and gangs are members of the government. They are completely intertwined,” he said. “The message here is more for the Venezuelan authorities – it is also legitimate. If you are a minister in the Maduro government, or even Maduro, I will be very afraid of this announcement.”

Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and First Lady Alaga Flores are installed in a military car during the Independence Day celebrations in Caracas on July 5, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

He added that Venezuela lacks the ability to take revenge on the overwhelming American power. “They do not have the ability to intercept F-35 or already match firepower in the Caribbean,” said Garmondia.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is facing the election year, may adopt a “anti -imperialist” position on the escalation, but it is unlikely to provide material support to Maduro, while Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva may try to inhibit the strikes openly.

“The Maduro regime is basically a drug card that seized an entire country,” Garmondia said. “I don’t see if he had not put his hands on the fire to save him.”

Rising tensions

Trump has also moved to cut diplomatic channels with Caracas, as he directed his own envoy, Richard Greenil, for the relationship of all awareness efforts to Venezuela, New York Times I mentioned. This transformation represents an additional role towards a strict position: now, instead of negotiating, the White House doubles on the leverage as a basic tool.

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With a Friday strike, a total of 21 people were killed by four operations during the past month. The United States has also re-placed 10 F-35 aircraft to Puerto Rico to carry out anti-drug missions, and Pentagon creates strike options inside Venezuelan lands.

Maduro reported this week by announcing the state of emergency about what was called “aggression”. Vice President Delsey Rodriguez said that Maduro signed a decree that gives himself “special powers” to act in defense if the United States “dares to attack our homeland.”

Legally, the White House says that the president’s authority covers limited strikes at the present time. But unless Congress is signed before November, the process may raise a new war.