Trump officials claim second strike targeted drug boat, not crew

Officials from the Trump administration defended a follow-up strike on a drug smuggling vessel on September 2, which resulted in fatalities among survivors, by stating that the mission's primary goal was the total destruction of the vessel. The Pentagon had obtained internal legal authorization for the action.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained during a briefing on Monday that Adm. Frank Bradley, who supervised the operation and authorized the second strike, specifically ordered it to sink the boat. Adm. Bradley acted entirely within his authority and the law, directing the strike to ensure the vessel was neutralized and the threat to the United States was eliminated, Leavitt said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the second strike sank the boat and removed the threat, while minimizing his own involvement in the operation.

The administration framed the strikes as aimed exclusively at the boat, echoing language from a classified Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memorandum approving the strikes. According to three lawyers familiar with the matter, the OLC memo allows the U.S. to use lethal force against unflagged vessels carrying cocaine because the cartels fund violence through drug trafficking. The memo argues that the cartels are engaged in an armed conflict with regional allies, and U.S. action to destroy the cocaine is a form of collective self-defense.

Crucially, the OLC opinion states that potential deaths of individuals on board do not render the vessel an unlawful military target. The legal reasoning is based on intelligence findings in a classified statement of facts attached to the OLC memo and a National Security Presidential Memorandum dated July 25 on using military force against drug cartels. Although the documents remain classified, they reportedly include detailed assessments, such as each drug boat transporting roughly $50 million worth of cocaine.

The OLC memo has faced criticism from external legal experts, who argue there is limited public evidence that cartels use drug revenue to fund armed violence, rather than vice versa. Nevertheless, the Trump administrations stance aligns with the memo and provides a legal basis for its actions, potentially shielding officials from congressional or criminal scrutiny.

Adm. Bradley, now head of U.S. Special Operations Command, is expected to testify before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Thursday, representing the administrations justification for the strikes. Meanwhile, Hegseth has previously made public remarks suggesting that targeting individuals affiliated with cartels was permissible, though the OLC memo only addressed the legality of striking the vessels themselves.

Legal experts note that while military assets directly supporting combat may be legitimate targets, civilians or workers on those assets are not lawful targets under the laws of armed conflict.

Author: Benjamin Carter