“In Focus” Syllabus Supplements: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, and Operation Absolute Resolve (2025–2026)

Access the U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, and Operation Absolute Resolve (2025–2026) In Focus Syllabus Supplement via PDF here.

Table of Contents

SECTION I — International Law

A. Jus ad Bellum

B. International Humanitarian Law / Law of Armed Conflict / Law of State Responsibility

C. Accountability and Remedies

D. Seizure and Blockade of Vessels

E. Analysis and Opinions

SECTION II — Domestic Law

A. Domestic War Powers and Congressional Oversight

Resources and Trackers

Jeremy Chin, Margaret Lin, Aidan Arasasinghman, and Mary Miller, Timeline of Boat Strikes and Related Actions (June 2026)

SECTION I — International Law

A. Jus ad Bellum

1. Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, International Law and the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement Operations in Venezuela (January 2026)
2. Brian Finucane, Did the United States Just Bomb Ecuador? (March 2026)
3. Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, and Ryan Goodman, Expert Q&A on the U.S. Boat Strikes (December 2025)
4. Michael Schmitt, U.S. Saber Rattling and Venezuela: Lawful Show of Force or Unlawful Threat of Force? (November 2025)
5. Michael Schmitt, Attacking Drug Cartels in the Territory of Another State (October 2025)
6. Michael Schmitt, Striking Drug Cartels Under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict (September 2025)
7. Brian Finucane, Legal Issues Raised by a Lethal U.S. Military Attack in the Caribbean (September 2025)

B. International Humanitarian Law / Law of Armed Conflict / Law of State Responsibility

1. Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Brian Finucane, Key Questions on U.S. Killing Tren de Aragua Leader Inside Venezuela (June 2026)
2. Michael Schmitt, Using an Unmarked Aircraft to Attack an Alleged Drug Boat: Is it Perfidy? (January 2026)
3. Michael Schmitt and Marko Milanovic, The International Law Obligation to Investigate the Boat Strikes (December 2025)
4. Mark Nevitt, The Law on Targeting Shipwrecked Drug Traffickers: Expert Backgrounder (December 2025)
5. Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable (December 2025)
6. Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, Unlawful Orders and Killing Shipwrecked Boat Strike Survivors: An Expert Backgrounder (December 2025)
7. Daniel Maurer, Hypothetical Legal Review of Narcotrafficking Strikes (November 2025)
8. Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, and Ryan Goodman, The International Law Obligation of States to Stop Intelligence Support for U.S. Boat Strikes (November 2025)
9. Ryan Goodman, Michael Schmitt and Anna Jimenez, Irreconcilable Presidential Determinations: On Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan Government (October 2025)
10. Marty Lederman, Legal Flaws in the Trump Administration’s Notice to Congress on “Armed Conflict” with Drug Cartels (October 2025)
11. See also Schmitt, Striking Drug Cartels Under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict, listed above in Section I.A

C. Accountability and Remedies

1. Chimène Keitner, Head of State Immunity and Maduro on Trial (January 2026)
2. Daniel Maurer, How to Choose Which Military Members to Hold Accountable for Illegal Boat Strikes (July 2026)
3. Tracey Begley, Benjamin R. Farley and Sarah Harrison, International Accountability for U.S. Crimes in the Caribbean and Pacific (May 2026)
4. Miles Jackson, Arbitrary Killings or War Crimes? Why It Matters How the U.S. Strikes in the Caribbean Are Categorized (February 2026)
5. Edward Swaine, Can the U.S. Government Be Sued for Wrongful Death in a Caribbean Boat Strike? (January 2026)
6. Daniel Maurer, US Servicemembers’ Exposure to Criminal Liability for Lethal Strikes on Narcoterrorists (September 2025)

D. Seizure and Blockade of Vessels

1. Rob McLaughlin, Connor McLaughlin, and Michael Schmitt, The Law of Naval Warfare and the U.S. Capture of Neutral Merchant Vessels: The Case of the Marinera (January 2026)
2. Rob McLaughlin and Tess Bridgeman, The Just Security Podcast: Can the U.S. Seize Russian Flagged Oil Tankers? (January 2026)
3. Rob McLaughlin and Connor McLaughlin, A Law of the Sea Assessment of the U.S. boarding of the Bella 1 / Marinera (January 2026)
4. Elizabeth Hutton, Maritime Law Enforcement on the High Seas: Authority, Jurisdiction, and the Seizure of The Skipper (December 2025)
5. Michael Schmitt and Rob McLaughlin, Blockading Venezuela: The International Law Consequences (December 2025)
6. Rob McLaughlin and Connor McLaughlin, Was the Visit and Seizure of the Skipper off the Coast of Venezuela Lawful? (December 2025)

E. Analysis and Opinions

1. Orlando J. Pérez, The Shield of the Americas Is the Trump Corollary’s Military Edge (March 2026)
2. Marty Lederman, The Many Ways in Which the September 2 Caribbean Strike was Unlawful … and the Grave Line the Military Has Crossed (September 2025)
3. Mark Nevitt, Killing Shipwrecked Survivors is Not Just Illegal—It Endangers U.S. Servicemembers (December 2025)
4. Eugene R. Fidell, Daniel Maurer and Steven J. Lepper, Professional Responsibility and the Boat Strikes (December 2025)
5. Brett Max Kaufman, From Secret Law (2001-2024) to None at All (2025-present) (November 2025)
6. Sarah Harrison and Mark Nevitt, The Caribbean Strikes and the Collapse of Legal Oversight in U.S. Military Operations (October 2025)
7. Ben Saul, The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism” (September 2025)
8. Annie Shiel, John Ramming Chappell, Priyanka Motaparthy, Wells Dixon and Daphne Eviatar, Murder by Drone: The Legal and Moral Stakes of the Caribbean Strikes (September 2025)
9. Brian Finucane, Asserting a License to Kill: Why the Caribbean Strike is a Dangerous Departure from the “War on Terror” (September 2025)
10. Mark Nevitt, Using Labels, Not Law, to Justify Lethal Force: Inside the Venezuelan Boat Strike (September 2025)

SECTION II — Domestic Law

A. Domestic War Powers and Congressional Oversight

1. Rebecca Ingber, The Trump Administration’s Theory of Constitutional War Powers: “The President Could Decide” (March 2026)
2. Jeffrey Rogg, U.S. Intelligence in a Post-Maduro Venezuela (January 2026)
3. Brian Egan, Tess Bridgeman, and Ryan Goodman, Congress, the President, and the Use of Military Force in Venezuela (January 2026)
4. Ryan Goodman, Maduro Capture Operation and the President’s Duty to Faithfully Execute U.N. Charter Assessment of 1989 OLC Opinion (January 2026)
5. Tess Bridgeman and Brian Finucane, War Powers, Venezuela, Drug Boats, and Congress (January 2026)
6. Tess Bridgeman, Margaret Donovan and Ryan Goodman, U.S. Boat Strike Campaign: Questions Congress Should Ask Executive Branch Officials (December 2025)
7. Brian Finucane, Dissecting the Trump Administration’s Effort to Circumvent the War Powers Resolution for Boat Strikes (November 2025)
8. Rebecca Ingber and Jessica Thibodeau, Expert Backgrounder on War Powers Resolution 60-Day Clock for Boat Strikes Expiring Monday (October 2025)
9. Ryan Goodman, Michael Schmitt and Anna Jimenez, Irreconcilable Presidential Determinations: On Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan Government (October 2025)
10. Marty Lederman, Legal Flaws in the Trump Administration’s Notice to Congress on “Armed Conflict” with Drug Cartels (October 2025)
11. Stephen R. Weissman, Will the Intelligence Committees Meet the Challenge of CIA Covert Action in Venezuela? (October 2025)
12. Mary B. McCord and Tess Bridgeman, What the Senate Judiciary Committee Should Ask A.G. Bondi on Drug Cartel Strikes (October 2025)