Trump’s War Notice: The ‘Nonstate Actor’ Issue

Last night, we posted my piece about President Trump’s formal notification to Congress that the United States has engaged in armed hostilities, without congressional authorization, against drug cartels. This follows lethal attacks carried out by the large contingent of armed forces that the president has deployed in the Caribbean, near the coast of Venezuela. Between September 2 and 19, our forces destroyed three boats, killing a combined 17 people. The president alleges that the boats were in the process of importing illegal narcotics to the United States. (Last night’s column has links to prior posts regarding the three attacks.)

I want to amplify two points. In this post, I’ll address the first: the oddity of the administration’s claim that the relevant cartels are nonstate actors in light of the president’s prior insistence that they are arms of Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan regime. In a subsequent post, I’ll deal with the president’s flawed equation of narcotics trafficking with terrorist activity, and of terrorism designations with authorizations to use military force.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

Featured Tags

Last night, we posted my piece about President Trump’s formal notification to Congress that the United States has engaged in armed hostilities, without congressional authorization, against drug cartels. This follows lethal attacks carried out by the large contingent of armed forces that the president has deployed in the Caribbean, near the coast of Venezuela. Between September 2 and 19, our forces destroyed three boats, killing a combined 17 people. The president alleges that the boats were in the process of importing illegal narcotics to the United States. (Last night’s column has links to prior posts regarding the three attacks.)

I want to amplify two points. In this post, I’ll address the first: the oddity of the administration’s claim that the relevant cartels are nonstate actors in light of the president’s prior insistence that they are arms of Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan regime. In a subsequent post, I’ll deal with the president’s flawed equation of narcotics trafficking with terrorist activity, and of terrorism designations with authorizations to use military force.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.