CARIBBEAN

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a "non-international armed conflict," according to a Trump administration memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press after recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The memo, startling in scope, signals a potential new moment not just in the Trump administration's willingness to reach beyond the norms of presidential authority to wage war but in Trump's stated "America First" agenda.

It also raises questions about how far the White House intends to use its war powers and if Congress

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