DOJ Memo Exposes Trump’s Conflicting Narrative on Cartel Strikes

BREAKING: A newly leaked Justice Department memo reveals a stark contradiction between President Donald Trump‘s public narrative and the private legal rationale for the U.S. missile strikes against drug cartels in the Caribbean. The memo, sourced from a classified opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel, indicates that these strikes are framed as acts of collective self-defense on behalf of allies like Mexico and Colombia.

The internal legal justification, reported by the Guardian on October 3, 2023, claims that drug cartels are conducting armed violence against these governments, allegedly funded by profits from multimillion-dollar cocaine shipments. This assertion underpins the administration’s argument that targeting the cocaine shipments renders any casualties—over 80 fatalities from 21 strikes—mere collateral damage.

In contrast, Trump has publicly portrayed these military actions as a direct measure to combat U.S. overdose deaths, a narrative that lacks the legal support detailed in the memo. A White House official emphasized that Trump is not making a legal argument, yet his statements remain the sole public justification for the military strikes, creating a significant gap between rhetoric and legal rationale.

Critics, including law professor Martin Lederman, have raised alarms about the validity of this legal theory. “A significant problem with this theory is that they still have not identified any state that’s engaged in an armed conflict with a particular cartel,” Lederman stated. He further noted the absence of evidence showing that any state has requested U.S. intervention against these drug shipments, undermining the administration’s legal position.

The memo’s revelations come as the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier, has arrived in the Caribbean, heightening tensions in the region. The Pentagon has yet to comment on these developments, which could have serious implications for U.S. foreign policy and military engagement in Latin America.

As this story unfolds, the discrepancies between Trump’s public statements and the Justice Department’s private assessments raise critical questions about the legal and ethical ramifications of military actions in the region. The international community is watching closely as the U.S. continues its controversial campaign against drug cartels, with lives at stake and ongoing debates about sovereignty and military intervention.

Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story, as the implications of these revelations could reshape the public discourse around U.S. military operations in the Caribbean.