Wait, was that even legal?

Dru Brenner-Beck has a dense explainer on just where and how the US violated international law with respect to Venezuela. In sum:

The U.S. attacks against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific alleged to be carrying drugs supposedly destined for the United States have been condemned as extra-judicial killings and violations of international law by U.N. human rights experts, and labeled a crime against humanity by former International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Given the widespread, albeit not unanimous, conclusion that these strikes lack a legal basis under domestic and international law, it is likely that U.S. servicemembers and their leaders — including Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — can be held liable under international law for the deaths resulting from these strikes. New reporting of possible perfidy only adds to the available prosecutable offenses under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

Apart from the political decision of national governments and the International Criminal Court whether to investigate or prosecute the attacks as crimes against humanity, multiple courts outside the United States likely have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute what can be characterized as crimes against humanity or murder. Referring to a classified Office of Legal Counsel opinion justifying the attacks, a U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson claimed “the strikes were consistent with the law of armed conflict, and as such are legal orders” for which servicemembers are “not subject to prosecution.” This opinion, however, does not govern future U.S. administrations, the International Criminal Court, or other countries, all of which can pursue investigations and prosecutions for murder or crimes against humanity. Given that such crimes have no statute of limitations, many U.S. nationals will be subject to a long tail of criminal liability.

Trump and Hegseth have created a lifetime of problems for the entire chain of command, both by ordering flagrantly illegal actions and discrediting the US abroad (thereby making discretionary prosecutions more likely). The personnel who participated in the strikes (at any level) need to get independent representation and ask some really hard questions if they ever plan on touristing in a country that’s not afraid of (or is otherwise pissed off at) the United States.

By TheWanderingTraders – This SVG map includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this map:, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=176974647