Donald Trump - U.S. in “Armed Conflict” with Cartels

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – Breaking Military News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (October 2, 2025) — President Donald Trump has officially notified Congress that the United States is now engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, according to a confidential notice first obtained by the New York Times.

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The Times reported Thursday that the notice was sent to multiple congressional committees and “adds new detail to the administration’s thinly articulated legal rationale” for three U.S. military strikes Trump ordered last month on boats in the Caribbean. Those strikes killed all 17 people aboard.

The Associated Press also obtained the Trump administration’s declaration, which reportedly labeled drug cartels operating in the Caribbean as “unlawful combatants.” The filing stated the U.S. is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” a shift that carries sweeping legal implications.

“Although friendly foreign nations have made significant efforts to combat these organizations, suffering significant losses of life, these groups are now transnational and conduct ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere as organized cartels,” according to the memo, which refers to cartel members as “unlawful combatants.” “Therefore, the President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.”

Extraordinary Wartime Powers

By framing the anti-cartel campaign as an official armed conflict, Trump is asserting wartime powers rarely applied outside of traditional military conflicts. Under international law, such a designation allows a nation to kill enemy fighters even if they pose no immediate threat, detain them indefinitely without trial, and prosecute them in military courts.

Legal experts say this escalation crosses dangerous lines. Geoffrey S. Corn, a retired Army judge advocate general lawyer, told the Times that Trump’s move blurs the boundaries of emergency wartime powers.

“This is not stretching the envelope,” Corn said. “This is shredding it. This is tearing it apart.”

Corn added that while it is illegal for militaries to deliberately target civilians not directly engaged in hostilities — even suspected criminals — Trump’s declaration risks setting a precedent that normalizes extrajudicial killings.

A Divisive Move on Capitol Hill

The unprecedented notice has already ignited debate in Washington. Lawmakers are pressing the administration for clarity on how cartels — typically seen as transnational criminal organizations rather than military adversaries — fit within the framework of U.S. wartime authority.

With Congress now formally briefed, the declaration may trigger a wider legal and political showdown over executive war powers, the scope of the military’s role in counter-narcotics operations, and the definition of “enemy combatant.”

Pentagon officials could not provide a list of the designated terrorist organizations at the center of the Trump self-created conflict, a matter that was a major source of frustration for some of the lawmakers who were briefed, according to the person.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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