President Donald Trump has declared that the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, according to a notice sent to Congress following recent US military strikes on suspected smuggling boats off the coast of Venezuela.
The notice, obtained by AFP on Thursday, provides a legal rationale for at least three strikes carried out in international waters, which reportedly killed at least 14 individuals.
As part of a broader effort to curb drug trafficking, the Trump administration has deployed several military vessels to the Caribbean Sea, escalating tensions with Venezuela’s leftist government led by President Nicolás Maduro.
According to the Pentagon’s communication, “The President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and concluded that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.”
The notice also refers to suspected traffickers as “unlawful combatants,” further invoking the legal framework of the law of armed conflict.
The US strikes specifically targeted boats allegedly carrying narcotics off Venezuela’s coast, though legal experts have questioned the legitimacy of these operations under international law.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly defended the strikes, stating: “The President acted in accordance with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those attempting to bring deadly poison to our shores. He is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats.”
Rising tensions and accusations of provocation
A White House official confirmed that the notice to Congress followed a strike on September 15 and was required by law for any military engagement. “It does not convey any new information,” the official told AFP.
However, the military buildup and recent strikes have further inflamed relations with Venezuela. On Thursday, Caracas reported an “illegal incursion” by five US fighter jets flying within 75 kilometers of its coastline.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino condemned the flights as a “provocation” and a “threat to our national security.” A government statement also accused the US of violating international law and endangering civil aviation in the Caribbean.
Last month, Trump ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, marking the largest US military mobilization in the Caribbean in over three decades. The operation also included eight warships and a nuclear submarine, as part of what the administration described as an intensified campaign against drug trafficking.
Following a separate incident in which two Venezuelan military planes flew near a US naval vessel, Trump warned that any future aggression by Caracas’s jets would result in them being “shot down.”
President Maduro has accused the Trump administration of using the anti-drug mission as cover for a covert attempt to instigate regime change in Venezuela.
