In a significant escalation of U.S. efforts to combat drug trafficking, President Donald Trump has officially declared that the United States is in a state of ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels. This declaration was formalized in a notice sent to Congress, which was obtained by AFP on Thursday. The notice serves as a legal justification for recent military strikes in international waters off Venezuela, which resulted in the deaths of at least 14 individuals. The Trump administration has deployed multiple military vessels to the Caribbean Sea, intensifying its campaign against drug smugglers and further straining relations with Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolas Maduro. The Pentagon’s notice labeled drug cartels as ‘non-state armed groups’ and designated them as terrorist organizations, asserting that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States. Suspected smugglers were also described as ‘unlawful combatants.’ While the White House maintains that these actions are lawful and necessary to protect national security, legal experts have questioned the legality of the strikes. Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have heightened, with Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino accusing the U.S. of provocations after detecting five U.S. fighter jets near its shores. Trump’s recent military deployment to the Caribbean, including 10 F-35 aircraft, eight warships, and a nuclear submarine, marks the largest such operation in the region in over three decades. Maduro has accused Trump of attempting to orchestrate a regime change in Venezuela.