U.S. Military Kills 87 in 22 Strikes on Alleged Drug Boats as Trump Declares Armed Conflict With Cartels

Cumulative Pentagon reporting confirmed U.S. forces had conducted 22 strikes killing approximately 87 people aboard alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the eastern Pacific as part of a campaign Trump called an "armed conflict" with cartels. The administration notified Congress it was engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with "unlawful combatants" under Title 10 authority. Legal scholars raised War Powers Act concerns; survivors of some strikes disputed drug-trafficking claims.