Trump has the legal authority to attack cartels in Mexico under the Constitution

With Puerto Vallarta and the state of Jalisco under siege by oil companies, American policymakers need to know that President Donald Trump will be in a strong legal position if he chooses to hit cartels in Mexico or anywhere in the world.

Over the past four decades, drug cartels have smuggled tens of thousands of military personnel across our borders, many of them carrying weapons of mass destruction such as fentanyl or carfentanil. This is not “emigration.” It is an attack, and, under the Constitution, the president not only has the authority, but the duty to act.

Although drug cartels are non-state actors, they effectively control nearly one-third of Mexico’s territory, exercise sovereignty by issuing “taxes,” control the movement of people, and threaten and extort the government into doing their bidding.

Trump has done what no president in decades has done: he secured the Southern border and stopped the massive influx of illegal aliens and dangerous drugs. But does America need to stand back and wait for criminals to cross our borders to protect themselves? Of course not. There is ample precedent for presidents using the military to take on non-state actors abroad who threaten the lives and livelihoods of Americans — even without Congressional authorization.

Shortly after taking office in 1801, President Thomas Jefferson sent Marines “off the coast of Tripoli” to punish pirates who had been harassing American merchant ships for years and demanding tribute. Congress was not in session, but Jefferson did not wait for approval or call them into session. Despite having a small navy at the time, the new president sent a navy to the Mediterranean with orders to sink pirates if necessary. In August 1801, the army sank a ship off the coast of Malta without the consent of Congress. In February 1802, Congress passed an authorization of force – not a declaration of war.

On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa’s raiders killed three American citizens and crossed the border to attack Columbus, New Mexico, killing 10 American soldiers, robbing American businesses, and killing eight others. The men of Maj. Frank Tompkins chased the attackers 15 miles across the Mexican border, killing 100 and capturing 30. Villa’s men had killed a train car full of American engineers on their way to work in the Mexican mines. The Mexican government continued to fail to bring Villa and his men to justice.

President Woodrow Wilson called an emergency Cabinet meeting on March 10. Wilson decided to send the Army to Northern Mexico, citing the 1882 treaty that allowed “hot pursuit” over the border. Wilson sent 4,800 troops into Mexico under General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing on a “punitive expedition” to track down Villa and his men. Congress showed its approval with a one-time resolution two days after the fact. The Mexican government protested and fought back against the military, but eventually retreated in the face of American might.

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Drug cartels have killed more Americans than the Barbary Pirates or Pancho Villa ever did. As the DEA has repeatedly stated, almost all of the drugs that kill Americans today were smuggled across our Southern border.

Some libertarians and liberals may argue that attacking cartels in Mexico or outside our borders would violate the War Powers Act, which Congress passed over President Nixon’s veto in 1973. But even if the court upholds the War Powers Act on its merits — which it never did — the law only requires the president to notify Congress of an attack within 8 hours and 94 days. authorization.

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Since the WPA was passed, presidents of both parties have conducted military operations around the world without congressional approval – from Haiti to Libya to Bosnia.

Declarations of war have been very rare in our history: the last one was in 1942. The founders deliberately gave the president broad and complete powers to conduct military operations after the Articles of Confederation proved unable to respond to Shay’s rebellion and Britain’s refusal to withdraw troops from the newly independent American territory. Presidents must be able to act quickly and decisively to protect the American people from national security threats, and the Founders gave them the tools to do just that.

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Wilson sent 4,800 troops into Mexico under General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing on a “punitive expedition” to track down Villa and his men. Congress showed its approval with a one-time resolution two days after the fact.

After President Trump took office last January, the military launched Operation Southern Spear, which involved direct attacks on boats smuggling drugs from Venezuela. Like Jefferson’s team against the Barbary Pirates or Wilson’s “punitive expedition” against Pancho Villa, the Trump administration isn’t waiting until criminals cross our border — and they shouldn’t.

Corporations have enriched themselves for decades by making Americans addicted to deadly drugs, bringing tens of thousands of war men into our country and costing hundreds of thousands of Americans lives. Whether the cartels are on American soil or on foreign soil, the president stands on firm legal ground in bringing them to justice.

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