Stop Operation Southern Spear's Extrajudicial Killings at Sea

Congress needs to end Operation Southern Spear now. Since September 2025, the Trump administration has destroyed at least 67 vessels and killed at least 221 people at sea, with no judicial review, no charges, and no accountability. Sen. Tim Kaine, after reviewing classified information, concluded these strikes have likely illegally killed people who aren't even involved in drug trafficking. That's not a drug policy. That's extrajudicial killing. The administration's claim that we are in an "armed conflict" against cartels is a legal fiction invented to justify bypassing the courts. The Navy and Coast Guard have interdicted drug vessels for decades, boarded them, arrested the occupants, and prosecuted them. That process works. Bombing boats in the eastern Pacific does not — law enforcement officials and independent experts agree the strikes have had no meaningful impact on the regional drug trade. Congress has both the authority and the obligation to shut this down. Demand the administration cease these strikes, revoke whatever classified Justice Department finding is being used to authorize them, and restore the interdiction and prosecution model that actually respects the law.