AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTNews AnalysisThe move to treat criminals as if they were wartime combatants escalated an administration pattern of using military force for law enforcement tasks at home and abroad.President Trump is claiming the extraordinary power to shift maritime counterdrug efforts from law enforcement rules to wartime rules.Credit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesPublished Sept. 4, 2025Updated Sept. 5, 2025, 8:34 a.m. ETBy ordering the U.S. military to summarily kill a group of people aboard what he said was a drug-smuggling boat, President Trump used the military in a way that had no clear legal precedent or basis, according to specialists in the laws of war and executive power.Mr. Trump is claiming the power to shift maritime counterdrug efforts from law enforcement rules to wartime rules. The police arrest criminal suspects for prosecution and cannot instead simply gun suspects down, except in rare circumstances where they pose an imminent threat to someone.By contrast, in armed conflicts, troops can lawfully kill enemy combatants on sight.Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy for The Times.A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 5, 2025, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Without Arrest or Trial, Killing Drug Suspects. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | SubscribeRelated ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT