IN WAR ON DRUGS, A LICENSE TO KILL: As recently as July, the U.S. Coast Guard, intercepting a suspected drug smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela, disabled its engine with a well-aimed sniper shot. But that was then. As of Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued new orders. Drug smugglers would be treated as enemy combatants posing an imminent threat, and therefore, the U.S. military would be authorized to use lethal force without giving the suspects any chance to surrender.
“On my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists … a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere,” Trump posted on Truth Social along with video showing a missile striking a speeding boat with 11 people on board.
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“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States,” Trump posted. “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America.”
At yesterday’s meeting with Poland President Karol Nawrocki, Trump said U.S. intelligence was able to confirm the 11 dead were in fact from a designated narco-terrorist organization.
“We had tapes of them speaking. It was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people, and everybody fully understands that. In fact, you see it, you see the bags of drugs all over the boat,” Trump said. “They won’t be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people won’t be doing it again when they watch that tape. They’re going to say, let’s not do this. We have to protect our country, and we’re going to.”
RUBIO: INTERDICTION DOESN’T WORK: Speaking to reporters while on a visit to Mexico City, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump’s new shoot-to-kill policy was born out of frustration that treating cartels like common criminals instead of narco-terrorists was doing little to stop the flow of deadly drugs into America.
“The United States has long, for many, many years, established intelligence that allows us to interdict and stop drug boats, and we did that. And it doesn’t work,” Rubio said. “Interdiction doesn’t work because these drug cartels – what they do is they know they’re going to lose 2% of their cargo. They bake it into their economics.”
Rubio said “intelligence mechanisms” using a “higher focus” were able to determine the drug boat was headed toward “eventually” the United States. “Instead of interdicting it, on the President’s orders, he blew it up. And it’ll happen again,” he said. “What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.”
In an appearance on Fox and Friends yesterday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the strike as a clean kill. “I watched it live. We knew exactly who was in that boat, we knew exactly what they were doing, and we knew exactly who they represented. And that was Tren de Aragua, a narco-terrorist organization designated by the United States, trying to poison our country with illicit drugs.”
“President Trump is willing to go on offense in ways that others have not been and to send that clear signal to Tren de Aragua, Cartel del Soles, and others emanating from Venezuela, we’re not going to allow this kind of activity,” Hegseth said. “And so you want to try to traffic drugs? It’s a new day. It’s a different day. And so those 11 drug traffickers are no longer with us, sending a very clear signal that this is an activity the United States is not going to tolerate in our hemisphere.”
RUBIO VOWS TRUMP WILL ‘WAGE WAR’ ON NARCOTERRORISTS IN DEFENSE OF US STRIKE ON DRUG VESSEL
‘WE HAVE A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN’: The unprecedented strike against a drug cartel has sparked a debate among legal experts about whether a specific authorization of military force is required from Congress to treat cartels as enemy combatants under the laws of armed conflict.
“In my opinion, @POTUS has the authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution to use military force against drug cartels and their allies,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a former Air Force JAG officer and member of the Judiciary Committee, posted on X.
“I am so pleased that President @realDonaldTrump and his team are treating drug cartels and narco-states like Venezuela as the dire national security threat to our nation that they are,” Graham said. “More Americans have died from overdoses due to drugs coming across the southern border and, in many cases, from Venezuela than any activity by foreign nations.”
“The sinking of this drug-laden ship is the ultimate — and most welcome — sign that we have a new sheriff in town,” Graham said.
In an appearance on Newsmax, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) expressed some reservations about whether the United States is on a slippery slope. “It’s hard to have any sympathy for drug dealers, you know, trying to import product into our country, but at the same time, I guess you might ask the question, you know, where does it end?”
“Are we the world’s policeman, the international policeman? Are we going to be blowing people up off the coast all around the world?” Paul said. “Is it really the constitutional duty of our government to be, you know, about policing international drug trade everywhere around the world?”
“I think interdicting drugs coming into our country, absolutely there is a US interest in that,” Paul said. “But that’s a real question.”
HEGSETH WARNS ADDITIONAL STRIKES ON DRUG CARTELS COULD COME AFTER 11 KILLED
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: ‘COALITION OF THE WILLING’: Despite the fact that there has been no progress toward peace in Ukraine since last month’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, leaders of the so-called “coalition of the willing” are meeting in Paris today to map out what kind of post-war security guarantees will be needed to keep Russia at bay after the fighting eventually ends.
The meeting at the Élysée Palace is hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and is being attended by 39 world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The meeting is currently underway,” Zelensky posted on X this morning. “We are filling with real content the security guarantees for Ukraine in the long term and ensuring support for our Defense Forces of Ukraine now.”
“The security of the Ukrainian people is our own,” Macron posted on X ahead of the meeting. “Europe is rising to the occasion with strong security guarantees. We stand ready to build a robust and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The key to any viable security guarantees is the backing of the United States. “U.S. officials have told European counterparts that Washington could provide additional air defenses, including help enforcing a no-fly zone, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities,” the Washington Post reported, citing “four officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.”
“We are all working to bring an end to this terrible war. Including through ongoing discussions on the provision of security guarantees for Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in Brussels yesterday. “The U.S. and numerous others are working to design security guarantees that will ensure that once there’s peace, Russia will never ever again attempt to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
PUTIN: “IF ZELENSKY IS READY, HE CAN COME TO MOSCOW’: For one brief flicker of a moment yesterday, it looked as though perhaps, Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to make a major concession, agreeing finally to meet face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky, until, of course, we saw the full context of his remarks to reporters in Beijing.
Same old Putin, same old diatribe. Zelensky is illegitimate. His powers are over, his five-year term having expired. A meeting with a mere figurehead would be “a road to nowhere.” Nevertheless, in what appears to be a deeply disingenuous propaganda ploy, Putin invited Zelensky to meet him on his home turf.
“Donald asked me, if possible, to hold such a meeting. I told him it was possible. After all, if Zelensky is ready, he can come to Moscow, and we will have such a meeting,” Putin said. “If a meeting in question is well-prepared and may potentially lead to positive results, we can have it, and I never turned this idea down.”
“He’s trying to pretend that he’s willing to negotiate, pretend that he’s willing to make peace. But, of course, it’s absolutely absurd that Zelensky would go to Moscow, where he would likely be killed or imprisoned by Putin,” Kurt Volker, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, said on CNN. “It’s a ridiculous suggestion.”
In remarks to reporters, Putin argued that negotiations with Ukraine at this point are futile because Zelensky has no power to meet Russia’s demands.
“They must first hold a referendum. According to the Ukrainian constitution, questions regarding territories – any questions – are decided only by a referendum, as far as I recall. But, a referendum cannot be held under martial law, and this is also a provision of the constitution. Therefore, to hold a referendum, martial law must be lifted. But as soon as it is lifted, elections must be held. And this process would drag on and on,” Putin said. “Therefore, meeting with the current head of the administration — let us put it mildly — is a road that leads nowhere.”
WITH PUTIN IN CHINA, RUSSIA LAUNCHES OVER 500 DRONES IN ATTACK ON UKRAINE
TRUMP: ‘I HAVE NO MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT PUTIN’: For his part, President Trump, having been stiffed and stymied by Putin’s truculent intransigence, continues to take a wait-and-see approach, even as deadline after deadline whizzes by with no discernible progress.
“I think we have seen so many of these now. We have seen one day. We have seen 100 days. We have seen two weeks. We have seen another 100 days, then 50, then 10, now another two weeks. There is no credibility to these deadlines anymore,” Volker said on CNN. “And we have not seen a single bit of movement from Vladimir Putin towards actually stopping the killing in Ukraine.”
“I have no message to President Putin,” Trump said yesterday. “He knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other. Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy. And if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen.”
“I’m having a conversation with him very shortly, and I’ll know pretty much what we’re going to be doing. We’ve taken very strong action, as you know, and in other ways, we’ve taken very strong action. But I’ll be speaking to him over the next few days, and we’re going to see. I’m going to know exactly what’s happening.”
Trump bristled when, during the visit of the new Polish president, a Polish journalist had the temerity to ask about the lack of “action” since the Alaska summit. “You’ve expressed many times your frustration and disappointment with Putin, but there’s no action since you took your office. Are you worried?”
Trump showed a flash of anger, berating the reporter, “How do you know there’s no action? Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China — they’re almost equal — would you say there was no action? “I haven’t done Phase 2 yet or Phase 3.”
“When you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job,” Trump said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Hegseth warns additional strikes on drug cartels could come after 11 killed
Washington Examiner: Rubio vows Trump will ‘wage war’ on narcoterrorists in defense of US strike on drug vessel
Washington Examiner: With Putin in China, Russia launches over 500 drones in attack on Ukraine
Washington Examiner: With Putin and Kim in Beijing, Xi says humanity must ‘choose between peace or war’
Washington Examiner: DC National Guard troop deployment extended through December
Washington Examiner: Trump sees crime crackdown as the issue to blow up blue-city Democratic coalition
Washington Examiner: US cities Trump has mentioned sending federal troops to
Washington Examiner: Trump weighs sending troops to New Orleans in first red state crime deployment
Washington Examiner: Tom Homan says any federal troops sent to New Orleans will be immigration-related
Washington Examiner: FBI busts fentanyl operation in Ohio with links to Chinese nationals
Washington Examiner: Lauren Boebert joins ‘in fighting to reverse’ Space Command HQ move
Washington Examiner: Israeli annexation of West Bank could sink Abraham Accords, UAE warns
Washington Examiner: West Point puts portrait of Robert E. Lee back on display in library
Washington Examiner: Opinion: China-Russia-North Korea axis isn’t a military alliance
Washington Post: Encouraged by Trump, Europeans plan to send troops to secure postwar Ukraine
AP: Trump asks Supreme Court to quickly take up tariffs case and reverse ruling finding them illegal
Washington Post: Trump administration rescinds protected status for 250,000 Venezuelans
AP: Navy reverses demotion of Rep. Ronny Jackson, former White House doctor
Wall Street Journal: AI-Powered Drone Swarms Have Now Entered the Battlefield
Breaking Defense: Air Force Takes First Minuteman III Silo Offline in Milestone Towards Sentinel
Bloomberg: F-35 Continues to Over-Promise, Under-Deliver, GAO Says In New Review
Defense News: US Army Awards Lockheed Record $9.8 Billion Missile Contract
DefenseScoop: DOD Touts ‘Successful Transition’ for Replicator Initiative—but Questions Linger
Seapower Magazine: Can the US Navy’s E-2D Hawkeye Substitute for the Canceled Air Force E-7A Wedgetail
Washington Post: Putin and Kim at his side, Xi stages massive show of force
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Chinese Parade Emphasizes Operational Fifth-Gen Fighters, Unmanned Aircraft
The War Zone: China’s Imposing LY-1 High-Power Laser Weapon Unveiled at Huge Military Parade
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Guard Pilots Test HH-60 Helicopters Against an F-15 Fighter Attack
SpaceNews: Telesat to Offer Blocks of Satellite Bandwidth to DOD for Golden Dome
DefenseScoop: New Air Force Strategy Looks to Increase Adoption of Commercial Networking Tech
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Reserve Airmen Can Now Apply for Part-Time Space Force Jobs
THE CALENDAR:
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 4
8:45 a.m. 151 St. George Blvd, Oxon Hill, Maryland — Defense Strategies Institute fourth annual AI For Defense Conference, with Brian Campo, deputy assistant Coast Guard commandant for C4IT and deputy Coast Guard CIO https://ai.dsigroup.org/
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “China’s Military on Parade,” with Heather Williams, director, CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues; Tom Karako, director, CSIS Missile Defense Project; and Kari Bingen, director, CSIS Aerospace Security Project https://www.csis.org/events/chinas-military-parade
10 a.m. — American-German Institute virtual discussion: “Germany’s Party Ban Proceedings Against the AfD (Alternative for Germany),” with former German Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann https://americangerman.institute/events
10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies release of a policy paper: “”Homeland Sanctuary Lost: Urgent Actions to Secure the Arctic Flank,” with retired Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, former commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command https://afa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
12:30 p.m. — Middle East Institute discussion: “What are Iran’s Options After the 12-Day War?” with Ross Harrison, MEI senior fellow and author of Decoding Iran’s Foreign Policy: Strategic Interests, Power and Influence; Mohsen Milani, executive director, University of South Florida’s Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies and author of Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the U.S. in the Middle East; and Kenneth Pollack, MEI vice president for policy https://www.mei.edu/events/panel-and-book-discussion-what-are-irans-options
2 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “The Digital Front Line: Building a Cyber-Resilient Taiwan,” with Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA); retired Adm. Richard Chen, former vice minister for policy, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense and former chief of naval operations for Taiwan; Jason Hsu, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Anshu Roy, founder and CEO of Rhombus Power Founder; Joseph Saunders, CEO of RunSafe Security; and Jason Hsu, senior fellow, Hudson Institute https://www.hudson.org/events/digital-front-line-building-cyber-resilient-taiwan
2 p.m. — Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe virtual briefing: “The Impact on Central Asia of Russia’s War on Ukraine: Opportunities for U.S. Engagement,” with Eric Rudenshiold, senior fellow for Caspian affairs, Caspian Policy Center; Gavin Helf, adjunct professor, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University; and Kate Watters, co-founder and executive director of Crude Accountability https://www.youtube.com/live/
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 5
10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Winning the Next War: Overcoming the U.S. Air Force’s Capacity, Capability, and Readiness Crisis,” with retired Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, former commander, Air Combat Command; John Venable, senior fellow for airpower studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies; and retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/events/winning-the-next-war
5 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University in-person discussion: “Grand Strategy,” with Rebecca Lissner, senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, former deputy assistant to former President Biden and former principal deputy national security advisor to former Vice President Harris; and Heidi Urben, professor, practice and director of external education and outreach at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. Chatham House Rules https://events.georgetown.edu/sfs/event