Killing suspected drug traffickers who pose no threat of causing imminent serious injury to others would be murder under U.S. and international law. However, the United States has framed the attacks as a war with drug cartels, calling them armed groups.

The administration said its attacks comply with international rules known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict. Those international laws require the United States to distinguish between civilians and combatants, avoid attacks that cause disproportionate civilian harm, limit force to legitimate military objectives and avoid unnecessary suffering.