Experts told the New York Times that President Trump ordered the U.S. military to summarily kill people aboard a suspected drug‑smuggling boat and justified it by treating maritime counterdrug work as governed by wartime rules, not law‑enforcement rules. If asserted, that bypasses arrest and prosecution norms by reclassifying criminal enforcement as armed conflict.
— Reframing crime control as war at sea would set a precedent for expansive executive use of military force and erode due‑process boundaries.
Matthew Yglesias
2025.10.09
78% relevant
The article flags U.S. airstrikes on Venezuelan boats as evidence the administration is importing war-on-terror logic into drug interdiction, mirroring the existing idea’s claim that treating counter‑drug work as governed by wartime rules bypasses normal arrest/prosecution norms.
Tyler Cowen
2025.09.16
85% relevant
He flags 'another unlawful strike on a Venezuelan drug boat,' which mirrors prior concerns about treating maritime counter‑drug work as governed by wartime rules rather than law‑enforcement norms.
Tyler Cowen
2025.09.05
100% relevant
NYT report cited by Tyler Cowen: 'Mr. Trump is claiming the power to shift maritime counterdrug efforts from law enforcement rules to wartime rules.'