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Strategies & Market Trends : World Outlook

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To: Les H who wrote (47470)9/5/2025 5:29:59 PM
From: Les H  Read Replies (1) of 48704
 
Legal Issues Raised by a Lethal U.S. Military Attack in the Caribbean
By Brian Finucane, Just Security
Published on September 3, 2025

Brian Finucane ( Bluesky - LinkedIn) is senior adviser with the U.S. Program at the International Crisis Group and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law. Prior to joining Crisis Group in 2021, he served as an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State.

On Sept. 2nd, the Trump administration announced what it described as a “lethal strike” against an alleged drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. In a post on social media accompanied with a video of the strike, President Donald Trump stated that the attack was “against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists.” Trump also noted that Tren de Aragua had previously been designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The social media post also asserted that the strike had occurred in international waters and killed “11 terrorists.”

Although the facts are still emerging, the Trump administration’s extraordinary lethal attack on this purported smuggling vessel – and its vow that the strike was a start of a campaign – raise a number of significant potential legal issues. And even apart from these legal concerns, the strike constitutes a deeply troubling gratuitous use of the military that resulted in the unnecessary killing of 11 individuals.

Use of Lethal Force

Working in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy has for many years conducted maritime interdictions of suspected drug smugglers under a law enforcement paradigm—including during the current Trump administration. In such operations, U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel board the suspect vessel and take the crew into custody.

The attack on the smuggling vessel in the Caribbean was so extraordinary because there was no reported attempt to stop the boat or detain its crew. Instead, the use of lethal force was used in the first resort. According to Secretary of State Rubio, President Trump was given the option of conducting a maritime interdiction but instead elected to blow up the vessel to send a message. Such use of lethal force raises a number of distinct legal issues.

[url=https://www.justsecurity.org/119982/legal-issues-military-attack-carribean/]Just Security[/url]

Trump is applying the freewheeling lawless approach of Netanyahu and Israel in Gaza.
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