Stephen Miller Proposed CIA Lethal Strikes on Drug Boats, Agency Lawyers Questioned Legality Before Pentagon Takeover

Analysis
Our confidence is high, based on a year-long unbroken strike pattern, a Pentagon-run program now embedded in partnered interdiction with Ecuador, and no reported legal or political constraint. Miller's team routed around CIA lawyers rather than resolving their objections, and a directive covering two dozen designated organizations removed case-by-case legal review. His promotion to chief of staff leaves internal friction little room to slow the tempo. The US military will very likely conduct at least one more publicly reported lethal strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel between November 9 and December 8, 2026. The toll has risen to 236 killed in 71 strikes, up from 175 in April, though nearly all of the core account traces to one Washington Post investigation, so the five-outlet breadth overstates independence. The lawyers' objections may have mattered less than reported, since the Pentagon route was already under discussion and the administration may have preferred military execution for its visibility and legal framing. If strikes continue, Congress and groups such as the Center for Constitutional Rights must choose between litigation over the withheld legal memo and funding restrictions, while a lapse would let Ecuador recalibrate its cooperation.