{"id":43889,"date":"2025-09-13T12:49:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T19:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=43889"},"modified":"2025-09-13T12:49:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T19:49:36","slug":"omar-brings-war-powers-resolution-after-trump-bombed-boat-in-caribbean-with-no-legal-justification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/13\/omar-brings-war-powers-resolution-after-trump-bombed-boat-in-caribbean-with-no-legal-justification\/","title":{"rendered":"Omar Brings War Powers Resolution After Trump Bombed Boat in Caribbean With \u2018No Legal Justification\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/nancy-pelosi-speaks-on-legislation-to-protect-access-to-contraception.jpg?id=56529437&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=90&amp;coordinates=0%2C797%2C0%2C771\" alt=\"Nancy Pelosi Speaks On Legislation To Protect Access To Contraception\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) listens to speakers during an event on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2022 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cIt was not self-defense or authorized by Congress,\u201d the Minnesota congresswoman said of Trump\u2019s strike on a boat bound from Venezuela, which killed 11 people last week.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/stephen-prager\">STEPHEN PRAGER<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sep 12, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/intent\/compose?text=Omar%20Brings%20War%20Powers%20Resolution%20After%20Trump%20Bombed%20Boat%20in%20Caribbean%20With%20%27No%20Legal%20Justification%27%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fomar-venezuela-war-powers\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/omar-venezuela-war-powers\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/omar-venezuela-war-powers\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a href=\"javascript:;\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>US Rep.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/ilhan-omar\">Ilhan Omar<\/a>&nbsp;introduced a war powers resolution in the US House of Representatives on Thursday, seeking to restrain President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&nbsp;from conducting attacks in the Caribbean after he ordered a drone strike on a ship from Venezuela last week, killing 11 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration has claimed, with little evidence, that the boat was a drug trafficking vessel that posed an imminent threat to the United States. But that narrative has come increasingly into doubt in recent days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/ilhan-omar-venezuela\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/house-republicans-vote-to-remove-congresswoman-ilhan-omar-from-foreign-affairs-committee.jpg?id=56526497&amp;width=600&amp;height=600&amp;quality=90&amp;coordinates=1000%2C0%2C1000%2C0\" alt=\"House Republicans vote to remove Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/ilhan-omar-venezuela\">Omar, Ramirez Among First in Congress to Decry \u2018Unconstitutional\u2019 Trump Strike on Boat<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trafficking-fentanyl\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/congressional-democrats-hold-capitol-hill-press-conference-to-speak-out-against-trump-s-cryptocurrency-dinner.jpg?id=61589561&amp;width=600&amp;height=600&amp;quality=90&amp;coordinates=170%2C0%2C171%2C0\" alt=\"Congressional Democrats Hold Capitol Hill Press Conference To Speak Out Against Trump's Cryptocurrency Dinner\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trafficking-fentanyl\">Senator Says New Details of Venezuela Bombing Reveal \u2018Trump\u2019s Growing Lawlessness\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement on the resolution provided to&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2025\/09\/11\/venezuela-boat-attack-trump-ilhan-omar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Intercept<\/a><\/em>, Omar (D-Minn.) said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>There was no legal justification for the Trump administration\u2019s military escalation in the Caribbean&#8230; It was not self-defense or authorized by Congress. That is why I am introducing a resolution to terminate hostilities against Venezuela, and against the transnational criminal organizations that the administration has designated as terrorists this year. All of us should agree that the separation of powers is crucial to our democracy, and that only Congress has the power to declare war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Trump Administration launched a military escalation in the Caribbean without ANY legal authority and without approval from Congress.<br><br>I\u2019m introducing a War Powers resolution to terminate hostilities against Venezuela and reassert Congress&#39;s constitutional role. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YeZHT5DoPp\">pic.twitter.com\/YeZHT5DoPp<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ilhan\/status\/1966283036552790122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/article-1\/section-8\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article I, Section 8<\/a>&nbsp;of the US Constitution gives Congress the \u201csole authority to declare war,\u201d but presidents have often carried out military actions without congressional approval, citing their role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, particularly since the passage of the Authorization for Use of Military Force in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/R47603\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">War Powers Act of 1973<\/a>&nbsp;allows Congress to check the president\u2019s war-making authority, requiring the president to report military actions to Congress within 48 hours and requiring Congress to authorize the deployment of troops after 60 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Omar unveiled the resolution alongside several of her fellow members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and caucus whip Rep. Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda (D-Ill.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump cannot be allowed to drag the United States into another endless war with his reckless actions,\u201d Casar said. \u201cIt is illegal for the president to take the country to war without consulting the people\u2019s representatives, and Congress must vote now to stop Trump from putting us at further risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the days following Trump\u2019s strike on the ship, the administration\u2019s narrative that it contained members of Venezuela\u2019s Tren de Aragua gang bound for the United States has been called into question by news reports and by those briefed by the Department of Defense, which the Trump administration recently rebranded as the \u201cDepartment of War.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After his staff was briefed on Tuesday, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/11\/politics\/senior-democrat-pentagon-strike-gang-members-evidence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>CNN<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;that the Pentagon has \u201coffered no positive identification that the boat was Venezuelan, nor that its crew were members of Tren de Aragua or any other cartel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Trump has stated that the boat was en route to the US, the briefers themselves acknowledged that they could not determine its destination. Secretary of State Marco Rubio contradicted the president, saying \u201cthese particular drugs were probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean, at which point they just contribute to the instability these countries are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/10\/us\/trump-drug-boat-venezuela-strike.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>New York Times<\/em>,<\/a>&nbsp;meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trafficking-fentanyl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;Wednesday that the boat \u201chad altered its course and appeared to have turned around before the attack started,\u201d which further contradicts the claim of imminent harm to the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere is no evidence\u2014none\u2014that this strike was conducted in self-defense,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThat matters, because under both domestic and international law, the US military simply does not have the authority to use lethal force against a civilian vessel unless acting in self-defense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if the people aboard the boat were carrying drugs, as the administration claims, there is no legal precedent for the crime of drug trafficking justifying such an extraordinary use of military retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The White House has attempted to argue that the president has the legal authority to summarily kill suspected drug smugglers using an unprecedented legal rationale, which labels cartel members as tantamount to enemy combatants, who are allowed to be killed in war, because the product they carry causes thousands of deaths per year in the US.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/10\/us\/trump-drug-boat-venezuela-strike.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legal analysts<\/a>&nbsp;have described this as a flimsy pretext for extrajudicial murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scott R. Anderson, a senior fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School and a former legal adviser at the US State Department, wrote for the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfaremedia.org\/article\/did-the-president-s-strike-on-tren-de-aragua-violate-the-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Lawfare<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>There is no colorable statutory authority for military action against Tren de Aragua and other similarly situated groups. Occasional suggestions in the press that the Trump administration\u2019s description of Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization is meant to invoke the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) are almost certainly mistaken: That authorization extends only to the perpetrators of the 9\/11 attacks and select associates, and no one\u2014not even in the Trump administration\u2014has accused Tren de Aragua of being that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Marty Lederman, who served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel from 2009 to 2010, wrote for<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justsecurity.org\/120296\/many-ways-caribbean-strike-unlawful\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>&nbsp;Just<\/em><\/a><\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justsecurity.org\/120296\/many-ways-caribbean-strike-unlawful\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;Security<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Regardless of which laws might have been broken, what\u2019s more alarming, and of greater long-term concern, is that U.S. military personnel crossed a fundamental line the Department of Defense has been resolutely committed to upholding for many decades\u2014namely, that (except in rare and extreme circumstances not present here) the military must not use lethal force against civilians, even if they are alleged, or even known, to be violating the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The resolution introduced by Omar is the first seeking to restrain Trump\u2019s ability to launch military strikes against Venezuela. But it\u2019s not the first seeking to rein in his wide-ranging use of unilateral warmaking authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June, following his launch of airstrikes against Iran, war powers resolutions introduced in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/progressives-war-powers-iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">House<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/iran-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate<\/a>&nbsp;to limit Trump\u2019s actions in the Middle East narrowly failed despite receiving some Republican support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though specific attempts to rein in Trump\u2019s power have failed, the House did pass a bipartisan resolution earlier this week to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/house-votes-to-repeal-aumf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">repeal<\/a>&nbsp;the AUMFs issued by Congress in the lead-up to the Iraq War, and which presidents have used for over two decades to justify a wide range of military actions across the Middle East without congressional oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If passed, Omar\u2019s measure would require Trump to obtain congressional approval before using military force against Venezuela or launching more strikes on transnational criminal organizations that he has designated as terrorist groups since February, including Tren de Aragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Garc\u00eda, the Progressive Caucus whip, said the resolution was an effort to begin restoring Congress\u2019 authority to check a president operating with impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe extrajudicial strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea is only the most recent of Trump\u2019s reckless, deadly, and illegal military actions. Now, he\u2019s lawlessly threatening a region already profoundly impacted by the destabilization of U.S. actions,\u201d said Garc\u00eda. \u201cWith this War Powers Resolution, we emphasize the total illegality of his action, and\u2014 consistent with overwhelming public opposition to forever war\u2014reclaim Congress\u2019 sole power to authorize military action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/stephen-prager\">STEPHEN PRAGER<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen Prager is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/stephen-prager\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) listens to speakers during an event on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2022 in Washington, DC. \u00a0(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images) \u201cIt was not self-defense or authorized by Congress,\u201d the Minnesota congresswoman said of Trump\u2019s strike on a boat bound from Venezuela, which killed 11 people&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/13\/omar-brings-war-powers-resolution-after-trump-bombed-boat-in-caribbean-with-no-legal-justification\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43889"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43890,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43889\/revisions\/43890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}