The New York City Bar Association has accused President Donald Trump of some serious crimes. Bar has alleged that in a series of attacks, the US Navy has destroyed Venezuelan-flagged vessels in the Caribbean. They have called these attacks “illegal summary executions”.
One of the most respected legal organizations in the country has urged Congress to claim its constitutional authority to prevent any more authorized military attacks.
#USA: The New York City Bar Association has accused President Donald Trump of ordering a series of murders in recent weeks and wants Congress to assert its constitutional role as a check and balance. pic.twitter.com/5F3H4BgaQG
— CaribbeanNewsNetwork (@caribbeannewsuk) October 7, 2025
The Manhattan-based association has strongly condemned the President’s action for ordering at least four deadly naval strikes that took place throughout September and in early October.
There have been reports that these “kinetic strikes” have killed 17 people aboard these small vessels. The Trump administration has so far justified these attacks, saying that the people on board were linked to drug cartels. However, neither Trump nor anyone in his administration, including the press corps, has offered any evidence for these claims.
The Bar has claimed that even if the people on the boat were drug cartels, even then these attacks were against both US and international law.
“Even if the President has communicated that the United States is in an ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels, absent congressional authorization, these actions remain unlawful,” the statement read.
On September 2, President Donald Trump publicly announced on Truth Social that US Forces had destroyed a Venezuelan vessel that was allegedly operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. Trump then went on to claim that in this attack, 11 people were killed.
“Instead of interdicting it, on the president’s orders, we blew it up,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed the attack and the kills during a CNN interview a few days later, and then added that it might happen again.
The Trump administration has been talking about the Tren de Aragua gang ever since the immigration and deportation process began. They have claimed to arrest thousands of members of the Tren de Aragua gang and deport them to El Salvador.
Over the next few weeks, Trump also announced a few more strikes on September 15, 16, and 19, with another confirmed attack on October 3.
As mentioned earlier, neither the White House nor the Pentagon provided any public evidence in support of the claim that any of the targets were drug smugglers or terrorists.
The NYC Bar Association has claimed that such unilateral use of force is in direct contradiction to the US Constitution.
“Article I, Section 8 explicitly reserves to Congress the power to declare war,” the statement said. “Without congressional authorization or imminent self-defense justification, these actions cannot be lawful.”
Legal experts have also noted that while US law allows maritime interdiction of suspected traffickers, it does not authorize lethal force without due process. The Bar has warned that the killings constitute “arbitrary deprivations of life” and break several international agreements, including the U.N. Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Charter of the Organization of American States.
However, Trump’s administration has defended its actions as part of a newly declared “armed conflict” with drug cartels. In a message to Congress on October 1, Trump described the alleged traffickers as “unlawful combatants” and framed the strikes under international humanitarian law.
The NYC Bar rejected this argument, insisting that “the President’s declaration does not create a lawful armed conflict” and warning of escalating risks of hostilities with neighboring countries.
