In a span of less than two months, the U.S. military, under the directives of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has executed seven strikes against drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of 32 individuals. Trump has defended these actions as a necessary escalation to combat the influx of drugs into the United States, framing the effort as an ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels. This justification mirrors the legal authority invoked by the Bush administration during the war on terror post-9/11. However, the absence of congressional approval or a formal declaration of war has ignited a heated debate in Congress over the extent of presidential power. Lawmakers have raised concerns about the lack of concrete evidence to substantiate the strikes and the potential overreach of executive authority.
A timeline of US attacks in the Caribbean and what Congress has had to say
