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The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part II — What We Know about U.S. Vessel Strikes One Month In

Editor’s Note

This is part of Just Security‘s Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers.

Since early September, President Trump has ordered the U.S. military to conduct multiple lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea suspected of drug trafficking, resulting in at least 21 deaths. 

What do we actually know about the people killed and the vessels targeted? What legal justification is the administration putting forward for the killings— and is it viable? Is there anything to stop the President from making further “terrorist” designations, of citizens or non-citizens, and ordering the military to kill those he designates, including within the United States? What checks exist — from Congress, courts, or within the executive branch itself — on the president’s claimed authority to order killings in these circumstances? 

On this episode of the Just Security Podcast, cross-hosted with the Reiss Center on Law and Security, host Tess Bridgeman and co-host Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by experts Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to analyze the facts, the law, and the broader implications of this military campaign in the Caribbean.

Show Notes: 

This is a joint podcast of Just Security and NYU Law School’s Reiss Center on Law and Security.

Executive branch reporting on the vessel strikes, on Tren de Aragua, and related resources:

Listeners may also be interested in Just Security‘s Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers (updated, Oct. 3, 2025), including:

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