The Trump administration has been quietly justifying its secret military attacks on civilian boats in Latin America by claiming that the targets are involved in drug smuggling, not human trafficking. A classified memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) provides a legal justification for the strikes, which differ from some of President Donald Trump's public statements.
The OLC memo argues that narcotics on the boats are lawful military targets because they generate revenue for cartels who are in armed conflict with the U.S. according to the administration's claims. The memo also asserts that military personnel involved in the attacks are immune from prosecution, citing Article II of the US Constitution as their authority.
Critics say this is a faulty argument and an attempt to give the military a "get out of jail free" card. Senior defense officials have expressed concerns about the legality of the strikes, which have killed at least 80 civilians and injured many more. The memo also claims that the attacks are permissible under international law, but experts argue that this is not the case.
The OLC opinion was produced in the summer and has been kept secret from the American people until now. It was only made available to Congress and their staffs last week, after months of requests. Several government officials have expressed skepticism about the memo's findings, calling them "insane" and arguing that they are an attempt to justify illegal actions.
Experts say it is unlikely that military personnel will face prosecution for their roles in the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug smugglers covered by the OLC finding. However, there is no guarantee of absolute immunity. The Trump administration has been accused of using a "Mad Libs" approach to justify its actions, throwing together terms and concepts without any real substance or content.
The controversy surrounding the secret attacks on civilian boats in Latin America raises concerns about the Trump administration's commitment to human rights and the rule of law. As one expert noted, "This is not hyperbole. This is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the US government."
The OLC memo argues that narcotics on the boats are lawful military targets because they generate revenue for cartels who are in armed conflict with the U.S. according to the administration's claims. The memo also asserts that military personnel involved in the attacks are immune from prosecution, citing Article II of the US Constitution as their authority.
Critics say this is a faulty argument and an attempt to give the military a "get out of jail free" card. Senior defense officials have expressed concerns about the legality of the strikes, which have killed at least 80 civilians and injured many more. The memo also claims that the attacks are permissible under international law, but experts argue that this is not the case.
The OLC opinion was produced in the summer and has been kept secret from the American people until now. It was only made available to Congress and their staffs last week, after months of requests. Several government officials have expressed skepticism about the memo's findings, calling them "insane" and arguing that they are an attempt to justify illegal actions.
Experts say it is unlikely that military personnel will face prosecution for their roles in the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug smugglers covered by the OLC finding. However, there is no guarantee of absolute immunity. The Trump administration has been accused of using a "Mad Libs" approach to justify its actions, throwing together terms and concepts without any real substance or content.
The controversy surrounding the secret attacks on civilian boats in Latin America raises concerns about the Trump administration's commitment to human rights and the rule of law. As one expert noted, "This is not hyperbole. This is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the US government."
this is so messed up, like can't they just be honest with themselves let alone the people? these people are gettin killed or hurt and nobody's even botherin to investigate if it's really about smugglin or human trafficking...i mean i know that sounds obvious but come on, who gets to decide what's a 'lawful military target'? seems like a pretty weak excuse to me. and meanwhile they're just gonna sweep this under the rug and hope nobody asks questions again 
. I mean, 80+ civilians dead? That's just unacceptable. The fact that they're trying to justify it by saying the cartels are in armed conflict with us... come on! That's just not how international law works. And now we know that there was a memo that basically says "hey, as long as you're fighting against a cartel, go ahead and kill civilians". It's just so... sloppy. 
this is getting crazy... the whole "drug smuggling is legit military target" thing is just plain wrong. I mean, come on, we can't just use cartels' revenue as an excuse to kill civilians. that's not how it works. and if they're trying to justify this with some fancy legal jargon, good luck with that... it's like they think we're all born yesterday 
. and what really bothers me is that nobody seems to be holding them accountable for these secret attacks. it's like the whole thing is being swept under the rug. newsflash: just because you throw around some scary-sounding words, doesn't mean it's actually legal 
this whole thing is so whack 
! like they're justifying murder 
for profit 
and claiming it's okay under international law 
but experts are all like "nope" 
for the military personnel involved 
. can't believe the trump admin is trying to sweep this under the rug 
and make it seem legit 
. human rights are not negotiable 
, we need real accountability 
. this whole thing smells like a bunch of made up BS 
.
I'm literally shaking with rage right now thinking about this 
. I mean, someone needs to take these people down for this, pronto! The fact that it's been kept secret from the American public? Unbelievable 
.
meanwhile the real issue is cartels and organized crime but no one's touching that it feels like they're using every trick in the book to avoid accountability 
this whole thing reeks of a "get out of jail free" card for the military and its just not right 
. Can't have our gov't just making up rules as they go along... that's like, basic human rights stuff 
. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? Claiming that cartels generating revenue from narcotics are legitimate military targets? It sounds like something out of a bad movie 
.
. If our military personnel are willing to kill civilians on the basis of dubious claims, then we need to take a hard look at what's going on and make sure it's being held accountable.
. Maybe there are some nuances here that we're not seeing yet.
, like they're literally trying to make up the rules as they go along! 
. This whole thing reeks of a major cover-up and it's gotta make you question Trump's priorities for real 
this whole thing just reeks of a "get out of jail free" card for the military... and that's not cool at all 