By Tom Hals

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -The U.S. military killed 11 people aboard a vessel in the Caribbean on Tuesday that President Donald Trump said was carrying illegal narcotics and that belonged to a drug cartel he designated a terrorist organization responsible for murders in the United States.

Below is a look at the legal authority for the attack.

PRESIDENTIAL POWER TO USE THE MILITARY

Under the Constitution, the power to declare war belongs to Congress, but the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and presidents of both parties have conducted military strikes overseas without congressional approval.

Presidents have justified military force in limited actions abroad when it was in the national interest, wasn't restricted by Congress and didn't rise to th

See Full Page