UN Slams US for ‘Unacceptable’ Military Strikes on Alleged Drug Boats in Caribbean, Demanding Immediate Halt
- US military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean have been deemed “unacceptable” by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- Volker Türk has called for an immediate end to the strikes, citing a “mounting human cost” and potential “extrajudicial killings” of people on board.
- President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the US, but critics warn of a potential war with Venezuela.
The United Nations has launched a scathing attack on the US government, condemning its military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean as “unacceptable”. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has demanded an immediate halt to the attacks, citing a “mounting human cost” and potential “extrajudicial killings” of people on board.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk’s office, relayed his message at a UN briefing on Friday, saying: “These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable. The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”
President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US. However, critics warn that the strikes could be a precursor to a potential war with Venezuela, whose President Nicolás Maduro faces charges of narcoterrorism in the US.
The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest US military strike in the campaign on Wednesday, against a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. All four people on board were killed, taking the death toll to at least 61 since the campaign began in early September.
Trump’s administration has been accused of launching a “revenge tour” against Maduro, who has long been a thorn in the side of the US government. The US military has launched six strikes on Venezuelan vessels, sparking fears of an all-out war.
Speaking earlier this week from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in Japan, Trump noted the US attacks at sea and reiterated that “now we’ll stop the drugs coming in by land”. However, when asked if he was considering land strikes in Venezuela, Trump said, “No”, without elaborating.
The UN has called for an investigation into the US military strikes, with Shamdasani noting that countries had long agreed that the fight against illicit drug trafficking was a law enforcement matter governed by “careful limits” placed on the use of lethal force.
Intentional use of lethal force was allowed only as a last resort against someone representing “an imminent threat to life”, she said. “Otherwise, it would amount to a violation of the right of life and constitute extrajudicial killings.”