In framing the strikes as specifically targeting the boat \u2013 mirroring the language in a secret justice department office of legal counsel (OLC) memo blessing the strikes \u2013 officials technically put the attack on the firmest legal ground since questions surfaced about the incident.<\/p>\n
According to three lawyers directly familiar with the matter, the OLC memo says<\/a> it is permissible for the US to use lethal force against unflagged vessels carrying cocaine since the cartels use the proceeds to fund violence.<\/p>\n The reasoning goes that the cartels are in a so-called \u201carmed conflict\u201d with allies in the region and as part of collective self-defense, the US can destroy the cocaine on the boats to choke off cartels\u2019 money supply to buy weapons.<\/p>\n And perhaps most crucially for the administration, the Guardian previously reported, the OLC memo says the fact that anyone on board would likely die from a strike does not make a boat an improper military target.<\/p>\n The legal analysis is based on US intelligence community findings contained in a classified \u201cstatement of facts\u201d annex to the OLC opinion, and in a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) on using military force against drug cartels dated 25 July.<\/p>\n While the details are not public because the documents, which have not been previously reported, are classified, it is said to include granular details including that each drug boat carries roughly $50m worth of cocaine.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/p>\n If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, our guide at theguardian.com\/tips<\/a>\u00a0lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.\u00a0<\/p>\n Illustration: Guardian Design \/ Rich Cousins<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n The OLC memo has been fiercely criticized by outside legal experts<\/a> given the little public evidence to support the notion that the cartels are using drugs to finance armed violence, rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n Still, the Trump administration\u2019s explanation fits the confines of the OLC memo and provides a plausible legal justification \u2013 on which it could rely on to evade any potential congressional or criminal investigation amid calls for increased scrutiny by lawmakers.<\/p>\n It is also likely to be reprised by Bradley, a longtime operator who now heads US special operations command as a three-star admiral, when he appears before top Democrat and Republicans on the House and Senate armed services committees on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n Until this week, Hegseth has been freewheeling about the intention behind the second strike. At various points, he has suggested it was permissible to summarily kill people as long as they were affiliated with cartels.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,\u201d Hegseth said in an X post on Friday<\/a> in trying to deflect a Washington Post report<\/a> he gave an order to kill survivors of a boat strike.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764762010_244_4000.jpg\")
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