Trump says U.S. is in 'armed conflict' with cartels

Strikes on Caribbean boats raise questions about the president's war powers.

- BY AAMER MADHANI AND LISA MASCARO

President Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” according to a Trump administration memo obtained by the Associated Press on Thursday, following recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The memo, startling in scope, signals a potential new moment not just in the Trump administration's willingness to reach beyond the norms of presidential authority to wage war but in Trump's stated “America first” agenda. It also raises stark questions about how far the White House intends to use its war powers and whether Congress will exert its authority to approve — or ban—such military actions.

The move comes after the U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela.

Those strikes followed a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean.