Jon Favreau looked at a year of U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats and reached for one of the most damning words available: "murder."
House Democrats aren't far behind. Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, Jim Himes of Connecticut, and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi introduced a War Powers Resolution Wednesday, calling the campaign "extrajudicial killings."
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called the attacks "lawless boat bombings."
EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Has Killed 227 Civilians in Boat Strikes During “A Year of Murders”https://t.co/NEBDDDaaMZ
— Nick Turse (@nickturse) September 2, 2026
Their legal objection is legitimate territory for debate. Congress hasn't specifically authorized a war against drug cartels, and the administration hasn't released the underlying intelligence for every strike. Americans should always be wary when presidents claim broad power to kill people abroad.
But listen carefully to the rhetoric. The people on those boats increasingly disappear behind words such as "victims," "civilians," and "murder."
Just straight up murder, committed in our name with our tax dollars https://t.co/NhLzFzTRxv
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 3, 2026
People still haven't fully grasped that Trump and the MAGA movement have gone full Hitler. It's a movement based on pure sadism. https://t.co/DFCUEZhp0t
— Secular Talk ([email protected]) (@KyleKulinski) September 2, 2026
U.S. Southern Command gives a different account. On Aug. 23, forces struck a vessel traveling an established Eastern Pacific narco-trafficking route. SOUTHCOM said confirmed intelligence showed active involvement in drug trafficking. Two people were killed.
From SOUTHCOM:
"This operation is a clear and decisive reminder that SOUTHCOM is taking the fight directly to the cartels."
On August 23, under the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan’s direction, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed two narco-terrorists.
"When I ordered the establishment of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, it was precisely for this purpose: to accelerate, synchronize, and execute lethal actions against these destabilizing narco-terrorist networks. We are committed to imposing total systemic friction on narco-terrorists -- disrupting their operations, dismantling their leadership, and eliminating cartel terror across the region." Gen. Donovan said.
“Let me be clear, we will not permit narco-terrorists to operate with impunity in the Western Hemisphere, nor will we allow their deadly poison to reach American communities. This operation is a powerful demonstration of our lethal precision, overwhelming capability, and absolute resolve to protect the U.S. homeland," Gen. Donovan said.
Two days later, another strike hit a go-fast boat on an established Caribbean trafficking route. SOUTHCOM again cited confirmed intelligence, and four were killed.
The government should provide as much evidence as national security permits. Still, ignoring the drug trade while discussing the people participating in it produces its own distortion.
An estimated 69,973 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2025. An estimated 44,564 deaths involved opioids; cocaine and methamphetamine killed thousands more.
For comparison's sake, 58,220 Americans were killed during the near 20-year Vietnam War.
Behind those numbers are parents who buried children, children who lost parents, and communities that have watched addiction hollow out families.
The maritime routes aren't imaginary, either. Federal agents seized 1,418 pounds of cocaine from one Caribbean operation in May. Seven men extradited from Colombia this year were charged with using semi-submersible vessels to move tons of cocaine through the Pacific toward Mexico and, ultimately, the United States.
Critics can challenge President Donald Trump's legal authority without sanitizing the business his administration is targeting. Drug trafficking isn't a paperwork violation; its product destroys American lives.
Then comes the historical comparison.
President Barack Hussein Obama authorized the intentional killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and al-Qaeda leader, in Yemen in 2011 without prior approval from a court. Attorney General Eric "Wingman" Holder later defended the administration's position, arguing that "due process" and "judicial process" were not the same thing.
Holder's legal argument didn't make Obama's decision beyond criticism. Killing an American citizen without a trial should trouble anyone who cares about limits on presidential power.
Which is precisely why consistency counts.
Trump's critics are entitled to question his authority; they should also acknowledge the traffickers, the drugs, and the Americans those drugs kill. And anyone applying a constitutional microscope to Trump should be willing to turn the same lens towards Barack Hussein Obama.
Anything less leaves the principle looking suspiciously dependent on which party controls the White House.
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