The U.S. government has “formally declared” that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, elevating the ongoing counter-narcotics strikes in the Caribbean Sea/Pacific Ocean to the legal framework of war. A notice sent to Congress—required under Title 50 of the U.S. Code—outlined that cartels are now considered “nonstate armed groups” and “terrorist organizations,” whose trafficking operations constitute armed attacks against the United States according to the notice. . The report follows a series of three missile strikes last month against Venezuelan boats in international waters, killing 17 traffickers whose cargo “could ultimately be used to kill Americans.” . The official designation is a dramatic shift from decades of the metaphorical “war on drugs” to a literal armed conflict outlined by U.S. law/code. By framing cartel activity as warfare, the administration asserts authority to use lethal military force, detain individuals indefinitely, and prosecu...