In separate attacks this month, the U.S. military blew up two speedboats in the Caribbean Sea, killing 14 alleged drug smugglers. Although those men could have been intercepted and arrested, President Donald Trump said he decided summary execution was appropriate as a deterrent to drug trafficking.

To justify this unprecedented use of the U.S. military to kill criminal suspects, Trump invoked his "constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive" to protect "national security and foreign policy interests." That assertion of sweeping presidential power fits an alarming pattern that is also apparent in Trump's tariffs, his attempt to summarily deport suspected gang members as "alien enemies," and his planned use of National Guard troops to fight crime in cities across the

See Full Page