Yes, and that's the primary argument against this practice. If we have solid
intel that they're carrying drugs, and we know where they are, then as soon as
they enter our territorial waters we can board the boat and arrest them. The
Coast Guard doesn't need a warrant or even a specific reason to board a boat.
Some of those boats are faster than Cutters, but I don't have solid info on how
often they actually escape when they're already being tracked. It's hard to
imagine they really get away often because the Coast Guard also has
helicopters, and they're allowed to continue a pursuit into international
waters (and onto land) as long as the pursuit started in US waters.
Regardless of how often they really get away, it's not normal to blow up
someone's boat as a law enforcement action. We also don't execute drug
traffickers, and even when the state executes someone there's a trial first.
but.....
*
post-911 we treat foreign terrorist organizations as enemy combatants
*
the executive branch gets to decide who counts as an FTO. The sec of state,
sec of treasury, and attorney general all have to agree, but they also all have
the same boss.
*
Nobody can really stop the executive branch from declaring an FTO.
*
Congress could pass a bill to override someone's listing as an FTO, but to date
they've never done it.
*
The courts could overturn an FTO listing, but for a lot of reasons it's almost
impossible.
So effectively the President and/or their cabinet has a completely legal
pathway to authorize military force against just about anyone, and there's very
little anyone can do about it. It's not that I have sympathy for drug
smugglers, it's that all we can do is take someone's word for it that it was a
drug smuggler. If anyone is totally comfortable with that then I'm curious
what your rationale is.
________________________________
From: AF <[email protected]> on behalf of Ken Hohhof <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 3:00 PM
To: 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <[email protected]>
Subject: [AFMUG] now we're blowing up boats in the Pacific
https://x.com/SecWar/status/1981049943306752361
I thought the Coast Guard was able to intercept boats and board them, arrest
people and confiscate cargo. I seem to remember they specifically acquired
high speed boats that were a match for anything a drug runner might have.
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