Overview

• The notice to Congress says designated cartels are non-state armed groups and labels suspected smugglers unlawful combatants, directing the Department of War to operate under the law of armed conflict.
• The memo serves as the legal rationale for at least three September strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela that killed at least 17 people, with the Sept. 15 attack described as destroying narcotics and killing approximately three unlawful combatants.
• The document does not identify the targeted organizations or provide a public list, drawing bipartisan demands for evidence and War Powers oversight as Sen. Jack Reed says no credible justification or intelligence has been provided.
• U.S. naval and air assets remain deployed in the southern Caribbean as friction with Venezuela continues, including Caracas reporting U.S. fighter jets near its shores and earlier Venezuelan overflights of U.S. ships.
• Legal experts question the wartime framing and the use of the military instead of the Coast Guard for interdictions, while Trump has said he is considering targeting cartels coming by land, raising further legal questions.