20 September—Add to Donald Trump’s extensive rap sheet that now he’s a murderer. You’ll recall that he was convicted last year on 34 felonies and was facing pretty certain conviction on several others had not his pals on the Supreme Court, inept national Democrats, and a small majority of gullible voters saved his criminal ass. And rest assured that Trump won’t even be charged with the murders.

Just yesterday Trump gleefully announced that U.S. forces had destroyed yet another Venezuelan boat that he called a “drug vessel.” He didn’t specify the forces, but both warships and aircraft were involved in all of what apologists would call the proactive or preemptive strikes on drug runners in international waters of the southern Caribbean.

On 2 September an airstrike destroyed a speedboat allegedly operated by the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, killing 11 people.

On 15 September another boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela was sunk, this time killing only three people.

On 16 September a third alleged Venezuelan drug-running boat was sunk, although the death toll hasn’t been released.

On 19 September a fourth “lethal kinetic strike,” as Trump calls the offensive actions, clobbered yet another alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficking boat, killing three alleged drug traffickers.

While no military actions—strikes—have actually been instigated by Trump (because that’s what his flunkies do), clearly he authorized the four Caribbean exercises, just as he had authorized the bombing of the Iranian nuclear facility in June—and who knows what else (because that’s what presidents do).

Thus the homicides—possibly collateral, almost certainly intentional—can’t be considered murders, at least in the opinion of the Supremes, because they were authorized by the president and the president can do no wrong. (And in the opinion of Trump flunkies and Trump worshipers because Trump is greater than God.)

In the opinion of Venezuela dictator Nicolás Maduro and his opposition, however, as well as legal experts and politicians in the U.S. and elsewhere who aren’t intimidated by Trump, and just about everybody else, given the lack of evidence and due process, the unusual circumstances of the strikes, and the fact that they were extrajudicial and in clear violation of international law, the homicides—killings—were indeed murders.

Despite all his delusional ranting, Trump and his congress have not declared war on Venezuela, which could have justified the belligerent action in the Caribbean. So even suspected Venezuelan drug runners can’t be summarily executed. Not legally, anyway, or by anyone. What Trump is gloating about, then, is just plain murder. In fact, he authorized what amounts to political murder. But why should that bother Donald Trump?