Why Trump’s Boat Strikes Put US in Murky Legal Waters: QuickTake

US strikes on alleged drug-cartel boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean under President Donald Trump represent a sharp departure from traditional US counter-narcotics efforts. Unlike earlier maritime interdictions led mainly by the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies, these missions have taken the form of military airstrikes.

The attacks have raised questions from legal experts and lawmakers about whether the military campaign is lawful. Critics of the policy say that under US and international law, killing noncombatants, including suspected criminals, who pose no immediate threat is illegal — murder in peacetime, a war crime in an ...