#us-military-strikes

#us-military-strikes

This month saw another deadly U.S. military strike on a civilian vessel, suspected of drug trafficking, in international waters. As these strikes have escalated, questions have only increased around their lawfulness. At the same time, President Donald Trump last week accused Democratic lawmakers of "treason" for producing a viral video noting that members of the military must remain vigilant in the face of potentially unlawful orders from the commander in chief.

United States President Donald Trump's administration has drafted a legal opinion stating that US military personnel involved in military strikes off the coast of Latin America are immune from prosecution, The Washington Post and the Reuters news agency have reported. The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel provided the White House with the opinion on the issue of criminal liability for the strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, the outlets reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The Republican-led House of Representatives is expected to approve a funding bill today that will bring an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Most Democrats denounced it because it doesn't address health care subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year. Some Democrats have called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be ousted from his leadership role, even though he voted against the plan.

The U.S. bombed two boats in the Pacific Ocean in two days, the Trump administration announced this week, in a major escalation of the U.S.'s aggression as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed that the "strikes will continue, day after day." Hegseth announced both strikes in nearly identical posts on X on Wednesday, bringing the total number of publicly announced attacks to nine. They are the first that officials have acknowledged took place in the Pacific Ocean.

Fishermen in Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago reported being afraid to return to work after the Trump Administration conducted the seventh of its lethal air strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats since September, eighty-three year-old senator Mitch McConnell fell to the floor while answering a question from two volunteers about whether he supported ICE's practice of abducting people off the streets, and a team of four thieves dropped a Napoleonic empress's crown as they fled the scene of a seven-minute daytime

"I authorized for two reasons, really," Trump replied. "No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America," he said. "And the other thing, the drugs, we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea." Trump added the administration "is looking at land" as it considers further strikes in the region.

Senate Republicans have voted down a bill that would have curtailed President Donald Trump's use of force against drug cartels after he authorised strikes on boats suspected of engaging in drug trafficking off the coast of Venezuela. The bill from Democratic Senators Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia had called for the United States military to withdraw from hostilities that had not been authorized by Congress.

The Trump administration's justification for these strikes, such as it is, seems to be that any shipment of drugs connected to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a direct threat to the United States. These "narco-terrorists" may therefore be destroyed on sight, and without the fuss of asking permission from the U.S. Congress. This argument reflects the president's childlike but dangerous understanding of his role as commander in chief. The United States, once the leader of a global system of security and economic cooperation, is now acting like a rogue state on the high seas.

While Donald Trump claimed the strikes completely obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities, an early U.S. intelligence assessment contradicts this, suggesting limited success and that core components remain intact.