Overview
- The New York Times reports a classified Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo relies heavily on White House assertions to declare an armed conflict with drug cartels.
- The memo concludes lethal force falls under wartime authority and says officials and troops involved would have battlefield immunity from prosecution.
- U.S. forces have conducted roughly 20 strikes since Sept. 2 in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with about 80 reported deaths.
- Secretary of War Pete Hegseth formally named the campaign Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR under U.S. Southern Command to target so‑called 'narco‑terrorists.'
- International and domestic pushback is mounting as the U.K. curtails intelligence sharing, Colombia and Venezuela allege extrajudicial killings, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 51% of Americans oppose the strikes.