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The Trump administration has reportedly produced a classified legal opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel justifying lethal strikes against a secret list of cartels and drug traffickers. This opinion argues that such groups pose an imminent threat to Americans, allowing the president to designate them as enemy combatants for summary killing. This move expands presidential power beyond traditional criminal proceedings for drug trafficking and has raised concerns among some military lawyers regarding legality.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.