The #US #military has also conducted joint antidrug training exercises with other countries, including with Colombian & Mexican troops. The military also provided equipment & aircraft to former #DEA squads that mentored & deployed with — & sometimes got into firefights alongside — local antidrug officers in countries like Honduras. The program ended in 2017.

And the #Navy has long participated in intercepting vessels in international waters that are suspected of smuggling drugs toward the #UnitedStates. But naval ships typically do so as a #LawEnforcement operation, working under the command of a US #CoastGuard officer. Under an 1878 #law called the #PosseComitatusAct, it is generally illegal to use the #military to perform law enforcement functions.

The Office of Legal Counsel produced an opinion saying that #military officers who provided such information while knowing it would be used to summarily shoot down those aircraft could be putting themselves at risk of later prosecution. #Congress eventually modified US #law to permit such assistance.

In the 1990s, the #US #military assisted Colombian & Peruvian antidrug law enforcement activities by sharing information about civilian flights suspected of carrying drugs — like radar data & communications intercepts. But after those governments started shooting down such planes, the Clinton admin in 1994 halted the assistance for months.

Ahead of the 1989 operation, William Barr, who then led the Office of Legal Counsel (& was US AG in #Trump’s first term), wrote a disputed memo saying it was within Bush’s authority to direct law-enforcement arrests of fugitives overseas without the consent of foreign states. The #UnitedNations General Assembly condemned the Panama action as a “flagrant violation of #InternationalLaw.”

Past #US #military involvement in countering drug operations in #LatinAmerica have sometimes pushed at #legal limits. But those operations were framed as providing support for #LawEnforcement authorities.

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush sent more than 20,000 troops into Panama to arrest its strongman leader, Manuel Noriega, who had been indicted in the United States on charges of drug trafficking.

…#Unilateral #military assaults on #cartels would be a marked escalation in the long drive to curb drug trafficking, putting #US forces in a lead role on the front lines against often well-armed & well-financed organizations. A sustained campaign would also likely raise further issues related to #Trump’s push to use the military more aggressively to back a variety of his policies, often in the face of legal & constitutional constraints.

#Trump’s order provides an official basis for the possibility of direct #military operations at sea & on foreign soil against cartels.

#USmilitary officials have started drawing up options for how the military could go after the groups, people familiar with the conversations said….

“There’s one person who can afford to be cavalier about the uncertainty that he’s creating, & that’s Donald Trump,” said Rachel West, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation who worked in the #Biden White House on #labor policy. “The rest of Americans are already paying the price for that uncertainty.”

…“There’s no sort of rationale for this other than the president wanting to raise #tariffs based upon his whims, his opinions,” Ryan told CNBC on Wednesday. “I think choppy waters are ahead because I think they’re going to have some legal challenges.”

…As of now, #Trump still foresees an economic boom while the rest of the world & American voters wait nervously.

…Trump’s use of a 1977 #law to declare an economic *emergency* to impose the #tariffs is also under challenge. The impending ruling from last week’s hearing before a US appeals court could cause #Trump to find other legal justifications if #judges say he exceeded his #authority.

Even people who worked with Trump during his first term are skeptical that things will go smoothly for the #economy, such as Paul Ryan, the fmr Republican House speaker….

Total #construction spending has dropped 2.9% over the past year, & the factory #jobs promised by #Trump have so far resulted in job losses.

The lead-up to Thursday fit the slapdash nature of Trump’s #tariffs, which have been variously rolled out, walked back, delayed, increased, imposed by letter & frantically renegotiated.

…But so far, there are signs of self-inflicted wounds to America as companies & #consumers alike brace for the impact of new taxes. What the data has shown is a #US #economy that changed in April with #Trump’s initial rollout of #tariffs, an event that led to market drama, a negotiating period & Trump’s ultimate decision to start his universal tariffs on Thursday.

Companies are dealing with the #tariffs in various ways. For example many automakers appear to be swallowing the costs – for now. But most economists say the cost will ultimately be borne by #US #consumers & #businesses to some degree.

The case is one of at least 7 lawsuits charging that #Trump overstepped his #authority through the use of #tariffs on other nations. The plaintiffs include 12 US #states & 5 #businesses, including a wine importer, a company selling pipes & plumbing goods, & a maker of fishing gear.

The US #Constitution gives the #Congress the authority to impose taxes — including tariffs — but lawmakers have gradually ceded power over #trade policy to Trump.

The case centers on Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” #tariffs of April 2 that imposed new levies on nearly every country. But it doesn’t cover other tariffs, including those on foreign #steel, #aluminum & #autos, nor ones imposed on #China during Trump’s first term, & continued by President Joe #Biden.