Drones, Drugs, and the Constitution: The New Frontiers of Executive Power

Since September 2025, the Trump administration has conducted at least nineteen drone strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing over 75 people, far from any battlefield. Never before has a president claimed the authority to use military force against drug traffickers as a matter of self-defense. Former government lawyers and legal scholars across the political spectrum warn that this crosses a red line. They contend these strikes constitute extrajudicial killings prohibited by international law, and that they represent a dangerous expansion of executive power. Moreover, these actions show no signs of slowing, with the administration discussing potential lethal action within Venezuela’s borders and moving military assets to the region.

Join us for a conversation with Professors Allen Weiner and Harold Trinkunas about the boundaries of presidential authority, the administration’s foreign policy strategy, and the role of lawyers in deciding when and how America uses lethal force.

This event is co-sponsored by the Stanford National Security Law Society (SNSLS), the American Constitution Society (ACS), the Stanford Immigration & Human Rights Law Association (SIHRLA), and the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).