Key Takeaway: The 1986 Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act does not authorize U.S. forces to "blow drug boats out of the water." Legal review and maritime experts say the statute contains no provision allowing extrajudicial lethal force. Senator Chuck Schumer co-sponsored the larger Anti-Drug Abuse Act that included the MDLEA, but was not the author of the specific maritime provision. Experts emphasize that neither U.S. nor international law justifies summary attacks on vessels.
Fact Check: 1986 Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act Did Not Legalize 'Blowing Drug Boats Out Of The Water' — Schumer Was A Co‑Sponsor, Not The Author
Lead Stories says: Law: No
Verdict: The claim that the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) of 1986, allegedly authored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, makes it legal to "blow drug boats out of the water" is false. A review of the statute and commentary from a maritime-law expert show the law contains no authorization for indiscriminate or extrajudicial lethal force against vessels on the high seas.
What Was Claimed
A social-media post on X (December 18, 2025) shared a clip from the program Stinchfield Tonight, asserting that the MDLEA was "authored" by Chuck Schumer and "made it legal to blow drug boats out of the water." The clip suggested such actions were common in the 1980s and 1990s and implied the statute provides legal cover for recent strikes on suspected drug-running vessels.
What the Law Actually Says
The MDLEA was enacted as part of the broader Anti-Drug Abuse Act (H.R. 5484) of 1986. Lead Stories reviewed the MDLEA's statutory language and found no provision that authorizes the use of unrestricted lethal force against vessels on the high seas. The statute extends certain U.S. law-enforcement authorities to maritime drug-trafficking cases beyond U.S. territorial waters, but it does not create a license for extrajudicial attacks.
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/DerrickEvans4WV
Expert Analysis
Ian Ralby, an attorney and non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy who specializes in maritime security, told Lead Stories that the MDLEA "100% does not make it legal 'to take out drug boats' by blowing them up in the fashion pursued by the Trump Administration."
"There is no area of law enforcement that would allow for extraterritorial and extrajudicial summary executions as have occurred in these several dozen incidents. None of these attacks can be construed as law enforcement operations," Ralby wrote. "Neither the MDLEA nor any other U.S. or international law could be used to make these a lawful exercise of law enforcement powers."
Who Sponsored the Law?
Congressional records do not list Chuck Schumer as the sponsor or author of the specific MDLEA text. Schumer was one of 301 co-sponsors of the comprehensive Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which incorporated the MDLEA among many other provisions. Describing him as the author of that maritime statute is therefore misleading.
Bottom Line
The MDLEA does not authorize indiscriminate or extrajudicial lethal force against suspected drug vessels. Claims that it was authored by Sen. Chuck Schumer and thereby permits "blowing drug boats out of the water" misrepresent both the statute's language and the legislative record. Maritime-law experts say neither the MDLEA nor other U.S. or international laws provide legal cover for summary attacks on ships in international waters.
