Trump Declares Armed Conflict With Cartels... Is It Legal?
Trump has ended the pretense that cartel violence is a matter for courts and lawyers. By declaring them combatants...
Trump Declares Armed Conflict with Cartels Under Law of Armed Conflict
WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump has formally declared the United States in an “armed conflict” with terrorist drug cartels, invoking the Law of Armed Conflict to give military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies wartime authority to dismantle cartel networks flooding the country with fentanyl. The order, issued late September 2025, fulfills a central campaign promise to take the fight to the cartels before their poison reaches U.S. shores.
Trump’s move places cartels in the same category as non-state terrorist actors such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, shifting the government’s approach from courtroom prosecution to military confrontation. Under the order, cartel operatives can be targeted directly, detained as unlawful combatants, prosecuted in military tribunals and cut off from their financial lifelines.
Constitutional Authority
The president’s authority for this action rests in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, which names the president Commander-in-Chief of U.S. armed forces. American history offers precedent: President Thomas Jefferson acted against the Barbary pirates — another stateless but organized enemy — without waiting for a formal declaration of war. President George W. Bush did the same with terrorist actors such as al-Qaeda, and Obama with ISIS.
Today’s cartels mirror those pirates and terrorist organizations: they raise flags, control territory and wage violence against Americans with military discipline.
Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)
Rooted in the Geneva Conventions, LOAC sets the rules of engagement for unconventional warfare. It requires:
- Distinction between combatants and civilians.
- Proportionality in strikes.
- Military necessity for operations.
- Humane treatment for detainees.
But it also permits decisive measures against organized armed groups: targeted strikes, detention without civilian trial and direct action against their support systems. By invoking LOAC, Trump is applying these rules to cartels for the first time.
Spin vs. Reality
- Media narrative: Critics, including the New York Times, warn the move grants “extraordinary wartime powers” that could be abused.
- Legal reality: Presidents Bush and Obama used the same authority against al-Qaeda and ISIS, and the powers are limited by LOAC and constitutional checks.
- Political claim: Democrats insist cartels are a law-enforcement issue.
- On the ground: Cartels operate like insurgent armies with command structures, weapons, propaganda arms and flags — the very definition of organized enemy combatants.
What It Means
Trump has ended the pretense that cartel violence is a matter for courts and lawyers. By declaring them combatants, the Republic now confronts cartels as they truly are: a paramilitary enemy running a shadow war against the American people.
For the first time in decades, the rules of war now work in favor of the Republic, not the cartels.
Receipts:
