FBI Infiltrated Iowa Anti-War Group Before GOP Convention (commondreams.org)

NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union released new polling today on U.S. voters’ views on the U.S. government’s lethal strikes on civilian boats accused of carrying drugs. As of Jan. 2, 2026, the Trump administration and U.S. military have disclosed 35 strikes, killing at least 114 people. The polling, fielded by YouGov between Dec. 17-19, 2025, shows that an overwhelming majority of U.S. voters, including 97 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents, and 70 percent of Republicans, agree that Americans have a right to know more about their government and that the government should release the full unedited videos of the strikes. Moreover, a majority of voters, including 87 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of independents, and 15 percent of Republicans disapprove of the strikes, and 7 in 10 respondents believe that the administration has not yet clearly shown evidence that justify the actions. The survey also dug into U.S. voters’ opinion on what Congress should do about these strikes and found bipartisan support for more transparency and accountability. In particular: 58 percent of voters say that the Trump administration should “definitely” release its legal justification for the strikes on civilian boats to the public, along with an additional 25 percent saying that it should “probably” do so. Overall, 95 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents, and 73 percent of Republicans believe the administration should either “definitely” or “probably” release the justification. 63 percent of respondents support the U.S. government releasing the unedited videos of the boat strikes, including the video of the Sept. 2, 2025, strike that allegedly killed shipwrecked survivors. Overall, 82 percent of Democrats, 51 percent of independents, and 44 percent of Republicans hold this view. 58 percent of voters support Congress holding a public hearing with government officials responsible for the boat strikes, including 83 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of independents, and 31 percent of Republicans. “Our polling makes clear that an overwhelming number of Americans on both sides of the aisle want Congress to step up and hold the Trump administration publicly accountable for its illegal strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean,” said Christopher Anders, director of ACLU’s Democracy and Technology Division. “This means open hearings with the officials responsible for these murders, as well as releasing both the legal justification and unedited videos of the strikes. Given the life-or-death stakes of the president’s use of force, it’s imperative that this transparency and accountability comes immediately.” According to the poll, about half of respondents – 51 percent – either strongly or somewhat agree that using missile strikes to fire upon boats off the coast of Venezuela that might be carrying drugs constitutes murder. This includes 79 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of independents, and 20 percent of Republicans. The number is even higher when voters are asked about the September double-tap boat strike that fired upon defenseless survivors. These results come amidst an ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights, and New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit seeking the public release of the Trump administration’s legal justification for the strikes. The poll is based on 1,016 interviews conducted by YouGov on the internet of registered voters nationwide between Dec. 17 and 19, 2025. Respondents were selected from YouGov to be representative of registered voters. The margin of error is approximately 3.7 percent.

A Privacy Failure Waiting to Happen

The Trump administration must release its legal justification and all other materials related to its illegal lethal strikes on civilian boats at sea.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”) authored a legal opinion that reportedly claims to justify the Trump administration’s illegal lethal strikes on civilians in boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Media reports indicate that, in addition to claiming that the strikes are lawful acts in an alleged “armed conflict” with unspecified drug cartels, the OLC opinion also purports to immunize personnel who authorized or took part in the strikes from future criminal prosecution. Because the public deserves to know how our government is justifying these illegal strikes, and why they think the people who carried them out should not be held accountable, the ACLU is seeking immediate release of the OLC legal opinion and related documents pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.