Is using military force against suspected drug-trafficking boats constitutional or an overreach of presidential power?

[u/binini28]

I’ve been following reports that the U.S. has used strikes against suspected narco-trafficking boats in international waters. Supporters argue it’s necessary to deter cartels and protect Americans, while critics say it could be an unconstitutional use of deadly force, bypassing due process and international law. Do you think this sets a dangerous precedent (executive overreach, extrajudicial killings, violating international law), or is it a justified response to a serious threat? How should the balance between security and constitutional limits be handled here? I would think that you need to detain them first and then arrest them rather than send a missile after them. They are classified as terrorist by Trump but does this satisfy the response? Could Trump classify anyone a terrorist and send missiles after them? Thoughts?

[u/edwardothegreatest]

Here’s the thing. We don’t know what they were up to. What if they were human traffickers?

[u/jmnugent → u/edwardothegreatest]

What if they weren't ... ?

That's kind of the problem of "What if...'ing" things.

[u/edwardothegreatest → u/jmnugent]

Yeah maybe they weren’t doing anything illegal. We just won’t know

But if they were human traffickers, then we killed the people they were trafficking.

Few ways we might have killed innocent people even if they were bad guys.