U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive.
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
License to Kill
Since September 2025, the Trump administration has conducted an undeclared war in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing scores of civilians by deploying drone strikes on boats they allege are carrying drugs.
Experts in the laws of war and members of Congress say the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians — even suspected criminals — who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.
The Intercept is covering how the war on terror and the war on drugs are becoming one and the same.
Chilling Dissent
Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
Families of Boat Strike Victims Sue U.S. for “Manifestly Unlawful” Killings
A lawsuit aims to hold the Trump administration accountable for killing two Trinidadian men in an airstrike in the Caribbean.
Congress Votes Against Blocking Venezuela War After Stalling for Tardy GOP Rep
Rep. Wesley Hunt was busy campaigning for a Texas Senate seat, but House Speaker Mike Johnson held the vote open.
Voices
It Always Comes Back to Our Failed War on Drugs
Trotting out rhetoric about drug trafficking was a helpful pretext to remove Maduro in Venezuela — when oil was the real goal.
Trump Bullies Flip-Flopping Senators Into Defeating Vote to Block Venezuela War
Five Republican senators had voted to advance a war powers resolution on Venezuela. After Trump went berserk, the final vote narrowly failed.
U.S. Military Command That Attacked Venezuela Gutted Its Civilian Harm Team
Complaints about civilians killed or injured in the U.S. attack on Venezuela are instead being handled by the Pentagon directly.
The Intercept Briefing
Greg Grandin on Trump’s “Universal Police Warrant”
From Venezuela to Greenland, the Trump administration is redefining and invoking the Monroe Doctrine to seize whatever it wants, whenever it wants.
After Undercounting Boat Strike Killings, U.S. Military Updates Death Toll
After questions from The Intercept, U.S. Southern Command updated its count of civilians killed in boat strikes to 123.
Five GOP Senators Vote to Move Forward Bill Blocking Future Trump Attacks on Venezuela
Far-right Sen. Josh Hawley joined four other Republicans to advance a war powers resolution in a symbolic rebuke to Trump.