Letters of Marque

🇺🇸 Blackwater founder Erik Prince has suggested that Trump issue “letters of marque” to American PMCs so that they can attack targets outside the United States.

In an interview with Breitbart News, he said that these “privateers” could be used to combat drug cartels in Mexico… pic.twitter.com/LbAO4tZciz

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) February 2, 2025

… and Latin America.

The last letter of marque in the United States was issued after Pearl Harbor in 1942 – to a blimp operator who began hunting Japanese submarines. Introducing something similar today by presidential action that would grant a private organization a “license to hunt.”

This would help stop the flow of drugs and human trafficking across the U.S. border.

This would work very fast https://t.co/B9R7ppAVyi

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2025

… Letters of marque and reprisal are government-issued commissions that authorize private citizens (privateers) to perform acts that would otherwise be considered piracy, like attacking enemy ships during wartime

Privateers are rewarded with a cut of the loot they “bring home”

Legal Basis in the U.S.

The U.S. Constitution authorizes these commissions in Article I, Section 8, giving Congress the power to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal”

While Congress hasn’t issued one in over a century, the authority to do so still exists.

Modern Context: Mexican Drug Cartels

Using letters of marque could be a novel, but effective response to unique threats posed by drug cartels—especially in response to threats by the cartels to target U.S. planes returning illegal immigrants to their countries of origin

How Could They Be Applied?

- Authorization: Congress could issue letters of marque and reprisal authorizing private security firms or specially trained civilians to intercept cartel operations, particularly those involving drug shipments or human trafficking across borders

- Targets: Focus on disrupting supply lines, capturing high-value targets, or seizing assets like boats, vehicles, cash, gold, or equipment used in criminal activities

Advantages

- Flexibility: Private entities operate with more agility than the government, adapting quickly with the tactics of cartels

- Cost: Would reduce the financial burden on taxpayers, as privateers receive only a cut of what they recover & return to the U.S.

Criticism

The use of letters of marque and reprisal would undoubtedly draw criticism, especially from those inclined to elevate abstract, often-inchoate principles of what they deem “international law” above the sovereign interests of the United States

Dismissing the possible use of letters of marque to combat Mexican drug cartels—either on the basis of “international law” or otherwise—overlooks the clear and present threat posed by those cartels to the U.S.

This could prove to be an effective alternative to war

We have no desire to go to war with our southern neighbor

But we also can’t ignore the fact that drug cartels are now threatening to target U.S. planes deporting illegal aliens

That sounds like a great reason to consider issuing letters of marque and reprisal

Letters of marque and reprisal have worked well for the U.S.—and countless other countries—in the past

We’d be wrong not to consider using them against the cartels