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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 3d

The New York Bar Association (@nycbarassociation.bsky.social) today issued a statement condemning the unlawful extra-judicial killing of alleged Venezuelan drug smugglers on the high seas:

Unlawful Attacks on Venezuelan Vessels | New York City Bar Association

New York City Bar Association Statement Introduction This September, President Donald J. Trump ordered U. S. military strikes against three […]

www.nycbar.org

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 3d

The Guardian (@theguardian.com) should know better than this - the US gov’t characterizing as an armed conflict its extra-judicial killing of drug smugglers on the high seas, does not make it so. Media should not legitimize the false claim.
www.theguardian.com/...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 6d

"Non-international armed conflict" is the term used to describe conflict between a state and an organized armed group, as opposed to conflict between 2 or more states. But to be such an armed conflict, it must satisfy certain established conditions - which are not close to being met here.

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 6d

But this attempt to employ the law of armed conflict to legitimize killing people characterized as "unlawful combatants" is the logical conclusion of arguments and policy moves made during the Global War on Terror during the Bush Administration - and was precisely warned against at the time. 2/2

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 6d

The US is not in an armed conflict with drug cartels. That must be determined by reference to specific legal principles, not created by a Presidential "declaration". Otherwise, the US could simply declare an armed conflict with the Mafia, a union, or political party.1/2

Trump officials push claim that US in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels

Administration attempts to justify strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats by claiming US under ‘armed attack’

www.theguardian.com

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 18d

A domestic law purporting to provide the President with legal authority to summarily kill drug traffickers on the high seas will not make it lawful under international law. It will still constitute the unlawful extrajudicial killing of civilians.

Draft Bill Would Authorize Trump to Kill People He Deems Narco-Terrorists

Potential legislation circulating in the executive branch and Congress would grant President Trump sweeping military powers.

www.nytimes.com

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 19d

There are no legal questions to speak of - as Schmitt notes, lethal force against individuals outside of armed conflict is governed by the criminal and human rights law standards - which are not close to being met here. This is unlawful extrajudicial killing.

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 20d

Thanks for the comment - Modern cartels may "blur the line" when they engage in large scale hostilities against the state, as in Mexico and Colombia - but that is not remotely the case here. And there was no "host-country" issue here - they were killed on the high seas.

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 20d

This post by @profmarkovic.bsky.social on @ejiltalk.bsky.social provides an excellent analysis of the legal standards applicable to the crime of genocide, and an important perspective on when it does and doesn’t apply - all media should read it!

Proving Genocide

This week, a UN commission of inquiry found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. NGOs and various other bodies have of course made that finding before. Proving genocide, in Gaza or elsewhere, invariably turns on proving the specific intent of the perpetrators. In this post, I do not want to get into the Gaza […]

www.ejiltalk.org

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 28d

At long last....

Bluesky @bsky.app · Sep 8

v1.108 is rolling out today 🚚

Now live, at long last: Bookmarks, aka Saved Posts. For all those posts you'll definitely plan to come back to!

Update the app and give it a try. The button is right down there 👇

Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 28d

Careful and detailed analysis by @mikeschmitt.bsky.social in @justsecurity.org, rejecting claims that US strike on drug-running vessel could be justified as 1) self-defense under jus ad bellum; or 2) IHL within context of an armed conflict.

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

Legal expert discusses laws of war and law on the resort to force in U.S. military action against Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

www.justsecurity.org

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 29d

The Israeli strike on Doha is almost certainly a violation of the prohibition against the use of force in Art. 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, and cannot be justified as self-defense. It should be condemned.

Israel launches airstrikes against top Hamas members in Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks

Hamas says six were killed but its leadership survived the attack, which the US says ‘does not advance Israel or America’s goals’

www.theguardian.com

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 29d

To clarify any lingering confusion, the law of armed conflict (LOAC)/international humanitarian law (IHL) could not operate to legitimize this strike on a drug-running vessel. There is no armed conflict, and so LOAC/IHL simply does not apply. Period. It is extra-judicial killing.

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 23

The IPC Famine Review Committee Report on famine in Gaza, published yesterday:
www.ipcinfo.org/file...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 21

US sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors is an attack on the rule of law, period. If the international rule of law collapses the whole world will suffer, and Americans will come to rue their role in destroying it.

ICC 'deplores' new US sanctions on its judges and prosecutors

Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounces the court as "an instrument of lawfare" against the US and Israel.

www.bbc.com

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 18

Must-read paper on the developments to date in the effort to establish a treaty on the prohibition, prevention, and punishment of crimes against humanity, by @leilasadat1.bsky.social, who has been central to that effort:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 8

The media are not addressing the legal issues - but the use of military force against cartels within the territory of another state, without its consent, would be a violation of the fundamental prohibition on the use of force in Art. 2(4) of the UN Charter.
www.nytimes.com/2025...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 1

Interesting analysis of a German case that includes charges of using starvation as a method of warfare in Syria, and discussion of its significance as a precedent for this seldom prosecuted war crime:
lieber.westpoint.edu...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 1

The DOE report: www.energy.gov/topic...

Climate | Department of Energy

This report evaluates existing peer-reviewed literature and government data on climate impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and provides a critical assessment of the conventional narrative on climate change.

www.energy.gov

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Aug 1

The U.S. Dept. of Energy has released a new report claiming that reducing GHG emissions will do more harm than good - we are truly in an Orwellian phase of disinformation. Link in the comments.

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Jul 31

Having been raised in St. Lucia, I’m thrilled to see this. Justice is not in retreat everywhere.
www.hrw.org/news/202...

Saint Lucia High Court Decriminalizes Same-Sex Conduct

In a landmark victory for human rights, Saint Lucia has decriminalized consensual same-sex conduct. The High Court’s decision strikes down laws that criminalized intimacy between same-sex partners, which are discriminatory and inconsistent with international human rights standards.

www.hrw.org

Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Jul 31

An annotated bibliography on Crimes Against Humanity just posted by Beth Van Schaak - will be hugely helpful to anyone doing work in this area (regrettably, there are so many case studies ongoing now...)
papers.ssrn.com/sol3...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Jul 29

This is just so profoundly perverse and morally wrong - America’s actions on climate are not just harming future generations of Americans, but threatening all of humanity.

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Jul 28

Such secrecy and lack of transparency in the development and testing of solar geoengineering is unacceptable - and highlights again why stronger governance is needed:
www.politico.com/new...

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · Jul 28

The irony that Republican administrations are banning books, like 1984, that the CIA used to smuggle into Warsaw Pact countries to undermine communist totalitarianism.

www.nytimes.com/2025...

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