By Courtney McBride and Roxana Tiron (BGOV) (Bloomberg) —The Trump administration has determined that the US is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, according to a notification to Congress, offering further legal justification for recent strikes on alleged drug-runners from Venezuela. An automatic reply to an email seeking comment from the White House said a response may be delayed “due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown.” The Pentagon also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Critics have accused the White House of carrying out extrajudicial killings and failing to prove definitively that those killed in the strikes posed an imminent threat to US citizens. Trump told reporters last month that the US military had “knocked off” a third boat, but did not elaborate. At the time, Trump wrote: “It is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that will be necessary.