2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Summary
A Manhattan federal judge gave the Trump administration two weeks to hand over, for private review, a Justice Department memo that says the Pentagon can lawfully kill suspected drug smugglers at sea.
In a 66-page opinion, Judge Paul Engelmayer rejected two government arguments for keeping the memo secret in a Freedom of Information Act case, though the ruling does not require immediate public release.
The order puts fresh scrutiny on a campaign that has carried out 70 known strikes since September 2025, killing more than 230 people in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The administration argues the strikes are legal because Trump declared a formal armed conflict with a secret list of drug cartels without congressional authorization; legal specialists have called the killings unlawful because suspected smugglers remain civilians.