Killing at Sea Without Evidence

That’s Not Law Enforcement — And It’s Wrong

The latest New York Times investigation should alarm every American who believes this nation is governed by laws, not by impulse or political theater. In a series of Pentagon videos — grainy, silent, and only seconds long — we watch small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific vanish in explosions. Since September, at least 83 people have been killed this way.

The administration insists they were drug smugglers. But it provides no evidence — no recovered cargo, no identified suspects, no intelligence trail, no attempt to board or arrest. Just fireballs and silence.

This is morally wrong, legally indefensible, and operationally reckless.

The Old Way: Build a Case

For generations, U.S. maritime operations followed a simple formula: stop the boat, board safely, identify the crew, seize evidence, and gather intelligence to map the network. That’s how law enforcement works. You climb the ladder from couriers to organizers, from organizers to traffickers, from traffickers to cartel leadership.

Every arrest, every interview, every seized package helps dismantle the system. You don’t dismantle anything by killing everyone on sight.

The New Way: Kill First

The Times’ analysis shows boats being hit by laser-guided Hellfires, Griffins, and 250-pound bombs — often when the vessels were dead in the water, motors lifted out like they’d broken down. Some crews were plainly visible and within range of interception. One Colombian fisherman was reportedly blown up while stranded and awaiting help.

These are not “engagements.” These are summary executions carried out far from any battlefield, against unidentified people, without due process or confirmation.

No warnings. No attempt to stop. No attempt to board. No attempt to verify the allegation. No preservation of evidence. No intelligence gathered.

This is not policing.

If We Accept This, We Abandon the Rule of Law

Killing people without knowing who they are, what they’re carrying, or why they’re there is not law enforcement — it is the abandonment of law itself. And once we normalize this kind of killing abroad, it becomes easier to rationalize brutality at home.

Police, military, and government officials swear an oath to the Constitution — not to expedience, not to political convenience, not to fear. The rule of law does not stop at the shoreline.

And the question must be asked, “Are these orders legal?”

Congress must demand a halt to these strikes until transparency, standards, and accountability are restored.

If we continue down this path, we are not fighting cartels. We are destroying our own credibility — and our moral authority — one explosion at a time.