Trump says US is in �armed conflict� with drug cartels after ordering strikes in the Caribbean

President�Donald Trump�has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a �non-international armed conflict,� according to a Trump administration memo,�following recent U.S. strikes on boats�in the Caribbean.

Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The memo, startling in scope, signals a potential new moment not just in the Trump administration�s willingness to reach beyond the norms of presidential authority to wage war but in Trump�s stated��America First� agenda.