President Donald Trump stated Thursday that his administration will not seek a declaration of war from Congress before conducting military strikes against suspected drug traffickers, declaring bluntly, “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”

Trump made the remarks during a White House roundtable focused on his administration’s anti-drug efforts, as questions mounted about the legality of an escalating military campaign that has killed at least 43 people across ten strikes on suspected drug vessels since early September. The operations, which initially targeted boats in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, expanded this week to include vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean off Colombia’s coast.

The Trump administration argues it does not require congressional approval despite the Constitution granting Congress sole authority to declare war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the most recent strike Friday, saying six people were killed overnight on a vessel allegedly operated by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in the Caribbean—marking the first nighttime operation in the campaign.

The administration has defended the strikes by declaring the United States is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels it has designated as foreign terrorist organizations, including Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, and El Salvador’s MS-13. This designation allows the government to treat suspected traffickers as “unlawful combatants” who can be killed on sight without trial, similar to the legal framework used in the war on terrorism following September 11, 2001.

Human Rights Watch declared the strikes “unlawful extrajudicial killings,” with Washington Director Sarah Yager stating, “US officials cannot summarily kill people they accuse of smuggling drugs. The problem of narcotics entering the United States is not an armed conflict, and US officials cannot circumvent their human rights obligations by pretending otherwise.” United Nations human rights experts similarly described the operations as “extrajudicial executions” and “an extremely dangerous escalation with grave implications for peace and security in the Caribbean region.”​

Two survivors from an October 16 strike on a semi-submersible vessel were rescued and repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador. Ecuadorian authorities released one man after finding no evidence of criminal activity, raising questions about the accuracy of U.S. targeting. 

Venezuela and Colombia have accused the United States of murder and violating their sovereignty.

The Trump administration has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, F-35 fighter jets, thousands of troops, and now an aircraft carrier to the region.

Democrats in Congress attempted to force Trump to seek authorization for the strikes, with Senators Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia introducing a War Powers Resolution to block military action against drug cartels without congressional approval. The measure failed in a 48-51 vote on October 9, with most Republicans supporting the administration’s actions.

Senator Tim Kaine said the administration has not provided answers to lawmakers’ questions about “the intelligence supporting the strikes, the legal rationale for them or why the decision was made to attack the boats instead of intercept them.” Multiple congressional sources reported growing concern over the lack of information shared by the administration, including refusal to provide unedited video of the strikes.

Trump indicated Thursday that while his administration “might go to the Senate and Congress to let them know” about expanded land-based operations, he does not believe congressional authorization is necessary. “We have legal authority. We’re allowed to do this,” Trump said, citing drug overdose deaths as justification. “This is a national security problem. And that gives you legal authority.”

Trump signaled that the military campaign will expand from maritime interdiction to land-based strikes, stating “the land is going to be next” and noting that drug traffickers are increasingly using overland routes as sea traffic becomes too dangerous. 

The president dismissed reports of B-1 bombers flying near Venezuela as “false,” though two B-1 Bombers departed from the United States on Thursday and flew approximately 50 miles off Venezuela’s coast, according to a defense official and flight tracking data. Trump authorized the CIA to conduct lethal covert operations inside Venezuela, with the agency reportedly playing a central role in the boat attacks as well.​

The administration has justified its aggressive approach by citing the drug overdose crisis, with Trump claiming “300,000 US deaths over the past year” from drug trafficking, though he has not provided evidence for that specific figure.  CDC data shows approximately 107,543 total drug overdose deaths in 2023, with about 74,702 involving fentanyl. CDC data shows drug overdose deaths have been declining recently after peaking in previous years, with fentanyl from Mexico—not South America—being the primary driver of fatal overdoses.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted an AI-generated video parodying the 1970s television theme song “The Love Boat” to celebrate the Trump administration’s military strikes on suspected drug vessels that have killed at least 43 people.

The video, titled “The Drug Boat,” features altered lyrics sung to the iconic melody, with lines including “The drug boats now are destroyed and are ocean chum” and “Perfectly blown into oblivion,” according to the original post shared on October 8. The parody concludes with the word “BOOM!!!” accompanied by imagery celebrating the destruction of vessels and the deaths of those aboard.

Noem posted the video to her social media accounts alongside an AI-generated image depicting President Donald Trump, who never served in the military, wearing a U.S. Navy Admiral’s uniform. Her caption read: “President Trump LOVES the American people. That is why drug traffickers and narco-trafficking boats will no longer be allowed to transport deadly drugs into American territory. Thank you, @POTUS Trump for protecting our shores!”