Is the 'Department of War's' First Operation Illegal?
- americandoctor2022
- Oct 10
- 2 min read
In 1994, Paramount Pictures released its film adaptation of the Tom Clancy Novel Clear and Present Danger. In the movie, the President of the United States orders covert and illegal bombings against drug cartels in Columbia. In the end, the President’s illegal actions are exposed during a Congressional inquiry.
On August 25, 2025, President Trump ordered that the Department of Defense be renamed the Department of War. The name change is not 100% official because only a Congressional vote can officially change the name of the department.
Beginning September 2, 2025, the US military began targeting boats in the Caribbean from Venezuela that allegedly were carrying drugs destined for the US. To date the President has claimed to have destroyed three.
The justification for the attacks was summed up by Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
“The president of the United States is going to wage war on narco-terrorist organizations,” he said, adding that Trump has the right “to eliminate imminent threats to the United States.”[i]
International law does not allow for governments to kill unless to save a life imminently. To date, many legislators (bipartisan) have not been convinced by evidence presented by the US military that the boats had narcoterrorists on board as claimed. Further, new evidence shows the boats likely weren’t even traveling directly to the US.
Most cocaine comes from Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia, not Venezuela and of that only 24% comes through the Caribbean. Most comes into the US from elsewhere. The US has specifically targeted boats coming from Venezuela.
More importantly, the President has not gone to Congress for a declaration of war against Venezuela. While POTUS gets some latitude to conduct immediate strikes for national security, this provision is not a blank check to drop bombs indiscriminately, particularly when the ‘problem’ has been several generations in the making, It was not a crisis at the moment of the bombings.
Through international and national standards, it is highly likely the at the newly minted Department of War is conducting illegal attacks during its first mission. While most rational Americans would like to see the drug trade decreased and fewer Americans dead from overdoses, the question arises is the nation ready to break international law? If not, then the situation must be thoroughly investigated and if wrongdoing is found, those responsible need to be prosecuted.
