President Donald Trump has quietly decided that the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels that he views as terrorists, paving the way for more lethal military strikes in international waters.

Weeks after the U.S. carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea, prompting concerns about their legality, the White House sent a confidential notice to Congress revealing Trump had effectively opened up a new war front.

According to the memo, which was first reported by The New York Times, Trump had “determined” that drug cartels are “non-state armed groups” whose actions “constitute an armed attack against the United States.”

“Based upon the cumulative effects of these hostile acts against the citizens and interests of the United Stat

See Full Page