Trump's New Strategy: The US is Turning the Fight Against Drug Cartels into a "War Without Trial" - Rezazade

The Donald Trump administration has secretly prepared a legal justification that allows the use of deadly force against an "expanded list" of drug cartels and drug trafficking suspects. CNN reports this with reference to sources in the US Department of Justice.

The document, created by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), has not been published before and effectively legitimizes the use of the army and military strikes against civilians suspected of involvement in drug trafficking. The conclusion states that the president has the right to authorize the use of deadly force against a wide range of groups that "pose an immediate threat" to Americans, even if these groups have not been officially recognized as terrorist organizations.

According to experts, the document creates a precedent for an “indefinite war” against an unknown list of entities, allowing the president to effectively declare drug trafficking suspects “illegal combatants” and eliminate them without trial or investigation.

International expert, first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, Ali Reza Rezazadeh, believes that this approach is a dangerous precedent for world law and signals a radical change in American security strategy.

“This is not just a fight against drug trafficking — it is an expansion of the boundaries of military law within civilian operations. If the president is allowed to eliminate suspects without trial, this undermines the very idea of ​​the rule of law on which the United States is built,” Rezazade emphasized.

According to him, Trump is trying to create a “hybrid model of war” — a combination of internal security policy with methods of external combat operations. This, according to the expert, is an attempt to strengthen control and demonstrate determination on the eve of the election campaign.

“Such actions carry the risk of legitimizing the policy of targeted killings not only in the Caribbean region, but anywhere in the world. If tomorrow someone is declared a “threat” without public proof, it opens the door to arbitrariness,” he warns.

At the Pentagon, according to CNN, some military lawyers have expressed doubts about the legality of these strikes. However, the position of the OLC, as the main legal body of the executive branch, has priority, and the Department of Defense cannot officially challenge it.

The US military has already carried out at least four strikes on ships in the Caribbean Sea, as a result of which people were killed, whom the administration called “associated with drug cartels.”

Rezazade believes that this practice could provoke global consequences:

“The US is effectively introducing a doctrine according to which the president can independently determine who is the enemy and punish without trial. This is a dangerous escalation that undermines international norms and creates the potential for conflicts with allies.”

Lawyers and human rights activists expect that Congress will soon demand the release of the OLC document. Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to give an explanation on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.