Let’s not pretend we didn’t see this coming. If you’re just now waking up to the idea that the U.S. president can kill people overseas—even American citizens—with no trial, no charges, and no oversight … you’ve been asleep since the Clinton administration.
President by President: How the Kill Chain Was Built
Bill Clinton cracked open the door.
In the 1990s, he signed directives giving the CIA broader authority to target suspected terrorists abroad. Renditions, covert strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan, and drone precursors began. Terrorism became war, not crime.
George W. Bush kicked that door off its hinges.
After 9/11, Congress gave him the AUMF—a fear-born blank check. It justified drone strikes, indefinite detention, and torture. War law replaced civilian law, and secret detention centers sprouted like weeds.
Barack Obama made it sleek and silent.
The Nobel‑laureate lawyer‑president perfected the drone kill list—Anwar al‑Awlaki (an American citizen in Yemen) included. No trial. No debate. Just precision death by spreadsheet. Then he did it to his 16-year-old son, as well.
Joe Biden streamlined the machine.
He didn’t dismantle it—he called it “responsible counterterrorism.” The AUMF stayed. We seized Iranian tankers under claims of “terrorist proceeds in oil”—welcome to terrorist petroleum. Cartel-linked violence still got kill orders, no court needed.
Donald Trump (Second Term) inherited an imperial tool—then super‑charged it.
He streamlined strike authority, rebranded the Pentagon the “Department of War,” and declared entire drug gangs as terrorists. Once again, identity—judgment—death were concentrated in one man’s hands.
And now: He pulled the trigger this week.
This Week’s Strike: American Military Kills 11 on Alleged Venezuelan Drug Boat
On Sept. 2, 2025, the U.S. military carried out an airstrike in the southern Caribbean, citing an alleged Venezuelan drug boat operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. Eleven people were killed, and Trump gleefully labeled it a strike on “narco‑terrorists.”
The boat reportedly sailed from San Juan de Unare toward Trinidad. Locals in mourning towns later said warnings (in English, Spanish, Portuguese) were issued, but still a missile struck—no arrests, no trial, just a flash and a funeral. According to villagers, two other boats made the same trip without being noticed.
Trump repeated his claim that the gang was trafficking drugs. The Pentagon and SecDef Pete Hegseth promised more strikes; Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it the start of a campaign.
Critics—Senator Tim Kaine among them—lined up behind caution flags. They questioned legality and Congress’s exclusion from the decision. Venezuela cried foul: Maduro called it murder, not intervention.
Here’s the thing: It all sounds legal. Sounds justified. But it’s built on a definition so wide you could fly a drone through it.
U.S. law defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.”
That could mean cartel hitmen. Sure.
But it could also mean pirates. Hackers. Activists. Dissidents.
Hell, one day it could mean you—if you end up on the wrong side of the narrative.
And don’t think this is about Venezuela, or Yemen, or Iran. This is about what we’ve become. Every president since Clinton has claimed more power to kill in secret. And every Congress has let them. Because it’s easier to cheer from the sidelines than to do the hard work of oversight.
This Is On Us
Don’t kid yourself—this isn’t just Trump’s doing. We built this kill throne. We polished it. We made excuses for it. We slapped flags on the Hellfires and called it justice.
But if the president can kill without trial, seize without verdict, and declare entire nations as “terrorist sanctuaries” based on secret intel… then what’s left of the Republic?
So yeah, Trump’s in charge again. And now he’s got more power than ever. But if you’re clutching pearls now, wondering how we got here, save the drama.
We got here one precedent at a time.
One drone at a time.
One kill list at a time.
And now we have a president with the crown, the keys, and the kill switch.
And sooner or later, the crosshairs might swing a little closer to home.