President Donald Trump has formally declared that the United States is in a state of “armed conflict” with drug cartels his administration has labeled terrorist organizations, according to a confidential notice sent to Congress and obtained by The New York Times.

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The designation marks a significant escalation in the administration’s legal justification for U.S. military strikes against suspected traffickers. Last month, American forces sank three boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing 17 people. The White House contends the actions were lawful under the laws of war, rather than criminal killings.

The notice asserts that cartels constitute “nonstate armed groups” engaged in a “noninternational armed conflict” with the United States, language normally applied to wars against terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. It also describes cartel smugglers as “unlawful combatants” subject to lethal force.

“The president acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Times.