Washington D.C. โ – Over 60 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have โsent a letter to the โฃU.S. Congress urging them to โcurtailโฃ the โTrump governance’s recently initiated military campaign against drug โขcartels in the Caribbean. The letter,delivered amidst aโค government shutdown and congressional debate over funding,expresses โขconcern over the โฃlegalityโข of the operations โฃand calls for congressional authorization โฃbefore further military actionโ is taken.
Theโฃ administration launched what itโฃ terms a “non-international” war โagainst drug cartels, designating โtheir members as “illegal combatants.” Following initial attacks inโ early September, a โคgroup of Democratic senators requested explanations from the โคWhite Houseโ regardingโฃ the legal basis forโ theseโค actions, reminding the president that congressional approval is required toโฃ authorize such military engagements.
The Trump administration designated theโ Train of Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal association, as a “designatedโ terrorist organization” in february, alleging its โinvolvement inโข maritimeโ drug trafficking. Theโ White โHouse also accuses the Nicolรกs Maduro government of leading a criminalโฃ organization dedicated โto drug โtrafficking, and in August, doubled โขthe reward for โinformation โฃleading to Maduro’s capture toโค $50 โขmillion (approximately 43 million euros).
Though,the NGOs argue that both the Train of Aragua and venezuela play a “minor role” โคin drug trafficking to โthe united States. According to a document sent to โขCongress, “less than 10% of cocaine shipments bound forโข the United States travel through Venezuela,” based on the government’s โown calculations.
Senator Adam โฃSchiff (California) and Senator Tim Kaine (Virginia) โare planning to force a vote on war powers legislation this Wednesday. If successful, the measure โwould prevent U.S. armed forcesโข fromโ launching military operations against non-state organizations without โฃformalโ congressional โฃauthorization.The move comes asโ the House of Representativesโฃ is โin recess and the Senate struggles to โresolve the government funding โขimpasse.
