Trump’s “war” with drug cartels, briefly explained

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration is claiming that the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, after it killed at least 17 people aboard alleged drug boats last month. What happened? The Trump administration sent a letter, first reported by the New York Times, to multiple congressional committees this week that described drug cartels as “nonstate armed groups” engaged in “an armed attack against the United States,” and said the US was in a “noninternational armed conflict” against them. In such a conflict, the administration would have wartime powers to kill and detain cartel members with impunity — powers it is already exercising. What’s the context? The Trump administration has ramped up its rhetoric — and actions — toward drug cartels since January, when it designated the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization. In September, the administration struck what it described as three “drug boats” affiliated with Tren de Aragua in the Caribbean, killing the occupants; this week’s “armed conflict” designation appears to be an attempt to reverse engineer a justification for those strikes. So is the US really at war with the cartels? Not by any reasonable definition; “armed conflict” means something specific under international law, and it’s not what’s happening in the Caribbean right now. This isn’t the first time the administration has tried to argue the US is at war with a cartel, however; in March, Trump tried to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans immigrants it claimed were affiliated with Tren de Aragua, only to be slapped down in court (litigation in the case is still ongoing). What’s the big picture? Trump is attempting to expand the boundaries of what he can and cannot do with the US military in multiple directions. Earlier this week, he also suggested that US cities could become “training grounds” for the military. And with that, it’s time to log off… Come for my colleague Alex Abad-Santos’s jeremiad against the pasta shape farfalle (and also penne), stay for a nuanced discussion of what makes the ideal pasta shape. It’s a good time, I promise.