Fire at Will: Trump’s Illegal War in the Caribbean [TEASER]

These days, three degrees of separation from a drug dealer is all it takes to get you drone struck by the U. S. government in Venezuela. And look, maybe these extrajudicial killings aren’t exactly legal, but the bigger problem for all you sissy justice lovers out there is that this administration doesn’t care about the law. If you're not a 5-4 Premium member, you're not hearing every episode! To hear this and other Premium-only episodes, access to our Slack community, and more, join at fivefourpod.com/support http://fivefourpod.com/support. 5-4 is presented by Prologue Projects. This episode was produced by Dustin DeSoto. Leon Neyfakh provides editorial support. Our website was designed by Peter Murphy. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at Chips NY, and our theme song is by Spatial Relations. Transcriptions of each episode are available at fivefourpod.com http://fivefourpod.com Follow the show at @fivefourpod on most platforms. On BlueSky, find Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social, Michael @fleerultra.bsky.social, and Rhiannon @aywarhiannon.bsky.social. Our Sponsors: * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/fivefour for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code FIVEFOUR for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:04Speaker 00

  Hey, everyone. This is Leon from Prolog Projects. On this subscriber-only episode of Five to Four, Peter, Rhiannon, and Michael are talking about the Trump administration's drone strikes on boats in the Caribbean. Earlier this year, President Trump began posting video clips to social media of boats being blown up by US drones that the White House claimed were filled with Venezuelan drug traffickers. So far, the administration has provided no evidence. The hosts talk about what we actually know, the legal justifications or lack thereof, and how decades of executive power creep from the War on Terror to Obama's drone program made this possible. This is Five to Four, a podcast about how much the Supreme Court and the rest of the government suck.

• 0:59Peter Shamshiri?

  Welcome to Five to Four, where we dissect and analyze the Supreme Court cases that have ravaged our nation like illness is ravaging the hosts of this podcast. I'm Peter. I'm here with Rhiannon.

• 1:09Speaker 02

  Hey, not me. I'm perfect. I'm healthy.

• 1:12Peter Shamshiri?

  And Michael.

• 1:13Michael Liroff?

  Back from the dead, baby. That was a terrible week, but I'm feeling a little better. Peter, how are you?

• 1:20Peter Shamshiri?

  Well, last week, Michael, of course, was sick. And this week, even worse, I'm sick.

• 1:30Peter Shamshiri?

  The protagonist of reality, now sick with a shitty little cold.

• 1:35Speaker 02

  It's worse for us, too, in terms of complaints, negativity, general vibes, it being sort of lorded over us, how this person is feeling at every given second, you know? So I would agree, it's worse.

• 1:48Peter Shamshiri?

  Yeah. And then, when it comes down to the clutch, do I take the week off?

• 1:54Peter Shamshiri?

  Or do I record? Fourth quarter. Flu game every time, dude.

• 1:59Michael Liroff?

  Me, I, I go like four days without like a meal because my stomach is so fucked.

• 2:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, I don't want Michael recording from the toilet.

• 2:08Peter Shamshiri?

  I'm just saying I could do it.

• 2:09Michael Liroff?

  Peter, meanwhile, he wakes up with like a scratchy throat and is like, I must, I must hasten to urgent care.

• 2:18Peter Shamshiri?

  First of all, this is the one time, this is the one time that your ailment was like severe. Usually you're like, guys, uh, the sun is in the wrong part of the sky. I don't know if I could do it this week.

• 2:30Peter Shamshiri?

  Uh, the vibes are off around me. I can't, I can't make it, guys.

• 2:33Speaker 02

  As for me, again, stronger, healthier, more powerful than the both of you.

• 2:38Michael Liroff?

  That's, that's correct. It's accurate.

• 2:40Speaker 02

  Only host to have recorded from another country, recorded with COVID? If y'all recall.

• 2:47Peter Shamshiri?

  Yeah. Well, that's because you, despite being the healthiest host, get COVID like five times a year.

• 2:54Michael Liroff?

  Despite your stellar constitution.

• 2:56Peter Shamshiri?

  Long-term damage COVID does, we're gonna find out. You know what I mean?

• 2:59Michael Liroff?

  Yeah.

• 2:59Speaker 02

  I've had it three times for the record, total.

• 3:03Peter Shamshiri?

  All right. This week, we are talking about the drone strikes that the Trump administration has carried out against what it purports to be drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean.

• 3:16Peter Shamshiri?

  You've probably heard about this or perhaps seen the night vision snuff films the administration has put online of boats being destroyed.

• 3:24Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:25Peter Shamshiri?

  And perhaps you've wondered, is this legal? You know, is this okay? What's going on here?

• 3:30Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:31Peter Shamshiri?

  So we're gonna talk about what's happening with these operations, the legality of these operations, and about the arguments that uphold drone strikes generally and how past presidents and the Supreme Court laid the groundwork for all of this.

• 3:49Peter Shamshiri?

  So I'll cover the background this time in a change of pace to see whether I can do it. I don't remember why we agreed to this, Ree, but I did.

• 3:59Speaker 02

  My prediction, pitchforks.

• 4:03Peter Shamshiri?

  It's possible. It's possible. Now, did you? Hey, folks. If you want to hear the rest of this episode, you're going to have to subscribe. This episode is one of our premium Patreon-only episodes. Membership starts at just $5 a month. If you want to hear the rest, join us at patreon.com/54pod. That's 5-4-pod, all spelled out. Members get a bunch of stuff. Not only do you get access to the premium episodes, but access to subscriber-only events, discounts on merch, and at the $10 a month level, you get bigger discounts on merch and membership in the incredibly rowdy 5-4 Slack. So again, that's patreon.com/54pod, 5-4-pod, all spelled out. Become a member today.