In a bold and controversial declaration, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he the Trump administration have “absolute and complete authority” to kill suspected drug traffickers—anywhere, anytime.
This follows a U.S. military strike ordered by President Donald Trump that blew up a Venezuelan boat reportedly carrying 11 alleged drug gang members. The operation, which took place in international waters, has sparked widespread legal and diplomatic backlash. But Hegseth is justifying the strike.
“We have the absolute and complete authority to conduct that,” Hegseth told reporters. “First of all, just the defense of the American people alone.”
He added: “I said we smoked a drug boat, and there’s 11 Narco terrorists at the bottom of the ocean, and when other people try to do that, they’re going to meet the same fate.”
The language is in lockstep with Trump’s own messaging. The president shared footage of the strike on Truth Social, writing: “Please let this serve as notice to anyone even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE.”
According to Trump, the men on board were part of a cartel aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—a claim that escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas. Maduro shot back quickly, declaring, “In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defence of Venezuela.”
This strike is the latest move in a broader campaign by the Trump administration to aggressively confront Venezuela and foreign drug gangs. Trump had already ramped up military pressure during his first term and recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful president. That legacy appears to be continuing—and intensifying.
On Fox & Friends, Hegseth gave further insight into the strike. “We knew exactly who was in that boat, we know exactly what they were doing, and we know exactly who they represented,” he said.
But the operation has raised serious questions about legality. While Hegseth insists the strike was justified under national defense, legal experts are less convinced. There’s no clear legal framework—domestic or international—that authorizes the U.S. to execute suspected criminals in international waters without due process. These weren’t declared enemy combatants. There was no trial. Just a missile.
Still, the Trump camp appears to be making a broader case: that drug smuggling, especially of fentanyl, constitutes an act of war. Hegseth made that clear in his comments to reporters, pointing to the staggering toll of drug overdoses in the U.S.
“100,000 Americans died a year because of drugs coming across the border,” he said. “That is an assault on the American people.”
The administration has tied this narrative directly to immigration. Trump’s campaign has leaned heavily on mass deportation and branding certain transnational gangs—like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua—as foreign terrorist organizations. That classification gives the military broader authority to act, though whether that authority covers strikes like this is murky at best.
What’s clear is that this isn’t a one-off. Hegseth and Trump are signaling a new era of U.S. counter-narcotics operations—one that bypasses traditional law enforcement, due process, and even international norms. It’s war by any other name.
The question now: how far are they willing to go?
