re: Bunk, yesterday we took out another boat full of "fishermen"

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Have they been designated a terrorist organization?

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What independent evidence is there that any of these boats were run by a particular "terrorist organization."

The designation itself doesn't authorize lethal action. From Chat GPT:

1. What a terror-organization designation actually does

When the U.S. designates a group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA § 219), several consequences follow:

It becomes a crime to knowingly provide “material support” to that organization.

The group’s assets in U.S. jurisdiction can be frozen.

Members can be denied visas or deported.


?? But the designation does not create a standing authorization for lethal force. It is a law-enforcement and financial-sanctions tool, not a war authorization.


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?? 2. Legal authority for lethal action

Under U.S. law, lethal force outside of U.S. territory generally requires one of these justifications:

1. Congressional authorization — such as an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).


2. Inherent self-defense — if the U.S. or U.S. personnel are under imminent threat of death or serious injury.


3. Consent of the foreign government — for example, joint operations with Mexico under a bilateral agreement.



Without one of those, killing a foreign national in another country (even a cartel member) would violate both U.S. law and international law, including the U.N. Charter and customary law prohibiting the use of force in another state’s territory.