US Strikes Alleged Tren de Aragua Drug Boat in Caribbean Sea

The US military used lethal force Tuesday in the South Caribbean, taking out a Venezuelan boat allegedly carrying drugs and killing nearly a dozen alleged Tren de Aragua (TdA) members.

Trump Admin: President Donald Trump shared a video of the strike, saying, “on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists.” Fox News (Right bias) focused solely on commentary from Trump and others within his administration throughout its reporting on the incident. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump is “going to use the full power of America and the full might of the United States to take on and eradicate these drug cartels.”

Belligerent Foreign Relations: Nick Turse, writing an opinion article for The Intercept (Left), called the “ramp-up” of military force in Central and South America “belligerent foreign relations” that “harken back to early 20th-century military interventions.” Turse explained, “This gunboat diplomacy” looks much like the "big stick" approach to the Monroe Doctrine and “risks embroiling the U.S. in additional wars.” 

Question of Legality: BBC Fact Check (Center) focused on the question of legality, as some said the attack may have violated international human rights and maritime law. While “the US is not a signatory to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” according to the article, US military legal advisors previously said the US should "act in a manner consistent with its provisions," which state vessels operating in international waters should not be interfered with. Limited exceptions to this rule exist, but Professor Luke Moffett of Queens University Belfast said when force is used to stop a boat, it should “generally” be done using “non-lethal measures.” The attacks' compliance with US laws was also questioned. The US Constitution stipulates that only Congress has the power to declare war; however, the article points out that Article II lays out the president’s powers as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, a provision cited previously by the Trump administration in defending US strikes on Iran. The 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force Act (AUMF) could also be cited, considering the Trump administration has deemed drug cartels such as TdA ‘narco-terrorists’.

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