Pentagon officials could not provide a list of the designated terrorist organisations at the centre of the conflict, a matter that was a major source of frustration for some of the lawmakers who were briefed, according to the person.
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Lawmakers have been pressing Trump to go to Congress and seek war powers authority for such operations.
The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. Multiple defence officials reached on Thursday appeared to be caught off guard by the determination and would not immediately comment or explain what the president’s action could mean for the Pentagon or military operations going forward.
What the Trump administration laid out at the closed-door classified briefing was perceived by several senators as pursuing a new legal framework that raised questions particularly regarding the role of Congress in authorising any such action, the person familiar with the matter said.
As the Republican administration takes aim at vessels in the Caribbean, senators and lawmakers of both major political parties have raised stark objections. Some had previously called on Congress to exert its authority under the War Powers Act that would prohibit the administration’s strikes unless they were authorised by Congress.
The first military strike, carried out on September 2 on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat, killed 11 people. Trump claimed the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, which was listed by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation earlier this year.
The US Navy’s USS Stockdale near the entrance to the Panama Canal late last month.Credit: Bloomberg
The Trump administration had previously justified the military action as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US.
But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, as well as human rights groups questioned the legality of Trump’s action. They called it potential overreach of executive authority in part because the military was used for law enforcement purposes.
By claiming his campaign against drug cartels is an active armed conflict, Trump appears to be claiming extraordinary wartime powers to justify his action.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committees, said the drug cartels are “despicable and must be dealt with by law enforcement”.
“The Trump Administration has offered no credible legal justification, evidence, or intelligence for these strikes,” said Reed, a former Army officer who served in the 82nd Airborne Division.
The Trump administration has yet to explain how the military assessed the boats’ cargo and determined the passengers’ alleged gang affiliation before the strikes.
AP
