While using the U.S. military to directly attack the cartels would be unprecedented, there are potential options for doing so.
“Presidents – and especially this President – assert very broad power to use force unilaterally, at least up to a certain level, without congressional authorization” under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, Matthew C. Waxman, Liviu Librescu Professor of Law at Columbia University, said. “The claim is generally that as commander in chief and chief executive, the president has power to [use] military force to defend the United States.”
A direct attack by cartels north of the border would give Trump the widest latitude for responding with military force inside Mexico, Javed Ali, who worked in the National Security Council’s (NSC) counterterrorism unit during the first Trump administration, commented on Monday. There is already reported chatter about that, with claims that cartels are discussing using weaponized drones against U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) and law enforcement personnel along the border.
In addition to spurring Trump to invoke Article II, such an attack would allow him to respond under United Nations Article 51’s self-defense provisions, noted Ali, now an associate professor of practice at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan teaching courses on counterterrorism and domestic terrorism, cybersecurity, and national security law and policy. Trump could also invoke the War Powers Act, which would give him 60 days to carry out military operations before seeking Congressional approval, Ali added.
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https://www.twz.com/news-features/how-trump-could-use-military-force-against-cartels-in-mexico
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