Proposed Bill Revives 'Privateering' to Target Cartels, Authorizing Armed Citizens to Seize Property Abroad

The Cartel Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025 is a bill that reaches deep into history—specifically, the 18th century—to tackle modern transnational crime. In short, this legislation authorizes the President to issue “letters of marque and reprisal” to private armed individuals or entities. Think of it as officially sanctioned privateering against cartels. These private actors would be legally empowered to seize the person and property of anyone the President determines is a member, or even a conspirator, of a cartel—but only outside U.S. territory.

Back to the Future: The Return of Privateers

This bill is based on the claim that the Constitution’s Article I, Section 8, gives Congress the power to issue these letters to “punish, deter, and prevent acts of aggression” by cartel conspirators. Historically, letters of marque were used to deputize private ships (privateers) to attack enemy vessels during wartime. This bill updates that concept, allowing private entities to conduct quasi-military or law enforcement actions against designated cartel targets abroad.

Section 3 outlines the core mechanism: the President gets the green light to issue these letters, instructing recipients to seize the person and property of anyone deemed a cartel member or conspirator who is responsible for an “act of aggression against the United States.” The bill defines "cartel" by referencing existing executive orders and definitions of transnational criminal organizations. This means the scope of who can be targeted is tied to the President’s discretion in designating these groups.

The Real-World Impact: Delegating Power and Accountability

For most people, the immediate reaction might be, “Who cares? It’s only targeting cartels overseas.” But the mechanism the bill creates raises serious questions about accountability and due process. When the government uses its own agencies (like the FBI or military), there are established chains of command, rules of engagement, and mechanisms for oversight and accountability. This bill outsources those functions to private actors.

Imagine a private security firm—let’s call them “Global Solutions LLC”—getting one of these letters. They are now legally empowered to go into a foreign country, seize assets, and detain individuals based on a determination made by the President. If Global Solutions LLC makes a mistake, or if they seize the wrong person or property, the accountability path becomes incredibly murky. Since these actions happen outside U.S. territory, the individuals targeted—who may be foreign nationals—have virtually no due process protections guaranteed by U.S. law, even if they are wrongly targeted as a “conspirator.”

The Security Bond Loophole

The bill does include a requirement that the private recipient must post a “security bond” to ensure the terms of the letter are followed. However, the President alone determines the amount of this bond. This is a crucial detail. If the bond is set prohibitively high, only the largest, best-funded private security firms can participate. If it’s set too low, it offers little real protection against abuse or negligence by the private actors involved. The President’s unilateral control over this amount essentially gives the Executive Branch control over who gets to execute this new form of private warfare.

This legislation is a significant delegation of state power. While the goal of aggressively targeting cartels is clear and popular, the method—deputizing private, armed entities to conduct seizures and detentions abroad with limited oversight—is what makes this bill stand out. It shifts complex, high-stakes international operations from governmental agencies with established protocols to private contractors operating under a broad presidential mandate.