extrajudicial killing
76 Articles
The Law on Targeting Shipwrecked Drug Traffickers: Expert Backgrounder
Detailing how, under different scenarios, international law and U.S. past practices apply to Sept. 2 boat strike on survivors.
Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers
Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.
Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable
A deep dive on the international law applicable to the U.S. military's lethal operations against suspected drug boats
U.S. Boat Strike Campaign: Questions Congress Should Ask Executive Branch Officials
A list of questions that should be answered by U.S. government officials regarding the lethal campaign against suspected drug trafficking individuals, groups, and vessels.
Expert Q&A on the U.S. Boat Strikes
An expert Q&A on the Trump administration's lethal strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats on the high seas.
Professional Responsibility and the Boat Strikes
Legal and ethical debates surge around unreleased OLC memo on lethal boat strikes in the Caribbean, with growing calls for transparency and scrutiny of military lawyers.
From Secret Law (2001-2024) to None at All (2025-present)
The Trump administration's lethal strikes are the apotheosis of the last quarter century's often always secret and often unreviewable executive branch legal reasoning.
Hypothetical Legal Review of Narcotrafficking Strikes
A mock “operational legal review” depicting what a staff judge advocate’s advice should have been prior to the first reported strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel.
The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part III
Tess Bridgeman is joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to assess the latest strikes, the brief detention of two survivors, where the campaign may be headed, and what…
What the Senate Judiciary Committee Should Ask A.G. Bondi on Drug Cartel Strikes
Annotated questions Congress should be asking about U.S. military strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean.
US Servicemembers’ Exposure to Criminal Liability for Lethal Strikes on Narcoterrorists
Analysis by former career judge advocate officer and former court-martial prosecutor.
The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism”
By Professor Ben Saul, the Challis Chair of International Law at University of Sydney and United Nations Special Rapporteur.