In this screengrab taken from a video posted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on October 3, 2025, a boat is visible just before it is hit by a military strike, off the coast of Venezuela. In his post, Hegseth said the boat was trafficking narcotics and that four men onboard were killed. Pete Hegseth/X

The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The opinion, which was produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and has not been previously reported, argues that the president is allowed to authorize deadly force against a broad range of cartels because they pose an imminent threat to Ameri

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