Last week on Thursday, US Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced a bill to Congress called
The Cartel Marque and Reprisal Reauthorization Act. If passed, the law would allow President Trump to issue letters of marque to private companies or individuals to "outfit private warships for the purposes of sinking or capturing vessels belonging to enemy nations," and allow American citizens to "employ all reasonable means necessary" to seize cartel property at land or sea. This power, granting a legal form of piracy known as privateering, has not used by the US gov't since the War of 1812 over 200 years ago during the Age of Sail. While
The Paris Declaration respecting Maritime Law of 1856 formally banned privateering, the US did not sign on to the treaty.
Senator Lee says the bill, despite its antiquity, will strongarm recent efforts against Venezuelan drug cartels in the Caribbean.
"The Constitution provides for letters of marque and reprisal as a tool against the enemies of the United States," Lee said Thursday. "Cartels have replaced corsairs in the modern era, but we can still give private American citizens and their businesses a stake in the fight against these murderous foreign criminals. The Cartel Marque and Reprisal Reauthorization Act will revive this historic practice to defend our shores and seize cartel assets."
However, it is likely the bill may still face opposition as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over their 'brutal' methods of combating drug cartels, including an attack on Sept. 2 in which a Navy Commander overseeing the operation ordered a second missile strike to kill two survivors who were clinging to an overturned vessel.
Source:
https://www.lee.senate.gov/services/files/6008F035-A52D-4D6C-99E9-CEEE62B6C39D