Privateers of the Caribbean
Avast and prepare to be boarded!
US Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 11:
[The Congress shall have Power . . .] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water..
The “Marque” grants the authority to cross into enemy territory to seize property, and “Reprisal” refers to actions in retaliation for a national injury or loss.
A Letter of Marque and Reprisal is a formal commission issued by the government to a private vessel owner, granting citizens authority to engage in state-sponsored warfare on the high seas. It authorizes the ship and crew to seize ships and property of an enemy nation. The letters legalize actions that would otherwise be considered piracy, creating a distinct class of combatants known as privateers.
Mike Lee floats allowing private parties to target drug cartels for profit
Lee suggested Congress could utilize its Constitutional authority of granting letters of marque and reprisal
By Alex Nitzberg
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has floated the idea of the U.S. green-lighting private parties to target drug cartels for profit.
The senator laid out the proposal in posts on X.
“Letters of marque and reprisal are government-issued commissions that authorize private citizens (privateers) to perform acts that would otherwise be considered piracy, like attacking enemy ships during wartime,” Lee explained. “Privateers are rewarded with a cut of the loot they ‘bring home.’”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Congress could issue letters of marque and reprisal authorizing private security firms or specially trained civilians to intercept cartel operations, particularly those involving drug shipments or human trafficking across borders,” Lee wrote, adding, “Focus on disrupting supply lines, capturing high-value targets, or seizing assets like boats, vehicles, cash, gold, or equipment used in criminal activities.”
A Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) holds some 2 million barrels of oil. At ~$65 per barrel of Venezuelan crude all I can say is, Yar!
Category: Big Navy, Bravo Zulu, Trump!
The buccaneer in me says, “AYE!”
The Old Man in me says, “WTF are you thinking!”
(but what a way to go!)
If this goes through, the cutlas, musket and jolly roger flag
companies will be all over the place like peanut butter selling their goods….I wonder if Sponge Bob square pants knows about this..
Only pirate I like is:
That’d make an awesome unit patch for the TAH privateer squadron. Or whatever name is appropriate.
YAAR, MATEYS!
AVAST, YE SON OF A BISCUIT EATER!
Fuck it, I’m in. As long as there’s a bottle of Pusser’s Royal Navy Rum at hand, I’ll be like Captain Kidd.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=IS8uC7ea9oE&si=DvZ331PCjUOJG4mE
The band was originally called Johnny Kidd and the Pirates back in the mid 60’s. Eventually, Johnny left the band and the remaining members soldiered (pirated?) on as “The Pirates”. This video is from a live performance in 1977, in a small club where they were part of a bill that included punk bands. These guys pretty much blew the walls off the place and showed the punkers what was what. This is a cover of a Johnny Burnette Trio rockabilly song. Supposedly, Lemmy from Motörhead was a HUGE fan of these guys and cited them as an influence.
I’m in. Where do I sign?
I’m in as well, but we need to investigate how the engines are mounted on the vessel prior to boarding.
That one’s for Junior, the King of Battle!🤣
That applies to boats, too? I was not aware of that! Apparently, I was lost in the danger zone and my goose was cooked…
It’ll work until Bubba and Cletus figure out they can sink the druggie boats AND sell the hoisted cargo.
Just not a good idea.
Or until Venezuela et al start arming their merchant ships and some of our privateers are sunk. That would REALLY raise hell.
Sammies seemed to do pretty well with an open boat and a couple AKs and RPGs.
Oh yeah, Captain Phillips was an idiot.
The last letter of marque was issued in 1879 by Bolivia, the Confederacy issued them in the Civil War the US I think was the War of 1812.
To say the world has changed some since then is an understatement to the nth degree. Since the Anti Piracy Declaration of Paris in 1856 most European Powers abandoned the practice including their offshoots such as Australia and Canada. Potentially the UN could declare the US a rouge nation as they don’t recognize the practice as a part of warfare.
We are also overlooking the fact that we aren’t at war with anyone.
“Rouge nation”? Is that like Red China? 😉
At which point we cut off all funding, and kick them out of NYC.. they’ll fold within the year…
Hell, can we just do fhat regardless please???
I wouldn’t mind in the least if the UN kicked the US out of their NWO club and declared us “rogue”.
I’d say that it was about time that we (USA) left the UN.
Folks “abandoned” it because it is so very effective. Same reason they all banned “Swiss Mercenaries”.
-Government- commerce raiding was a huge part of WW2. It included armed merchant vessels and Q-ships.
Cletus and Jamal and Jose could get it done cheaper. Just need the legal framework to ensure it has decent limits, and has the death penalty behind the no-no rules. In effect, it needs a “UCMJ” where M is Marque or Mercenary.
“Letters of Marque” remain current practice. You do not actually believe all those “pirates” exist without paying off or buying license from the local authority?
Most especially the Islamics. The Koran is a letter of marque against non-muslims. And tons of Fatwah/Haidith/etc. And it didn’t end when we kicked Barbary ass.
You really thought all those modern pirates were freelance?
I would immediately volunteer for the ValGuard Pirateer ship.
What would be the cut of a fast boat transporting drugs? That seems to be the primary interest in stopping the drug importation.
Need to reestablish a “prize court” to pay for captured vessels. Also to reimburse the occasional SINKEX for expended ammo.