Three killed in latest US strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that three people were killed in the US attack on a boat allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean.
This is the latest in a series of attacks on ships that the Trump administration says are used to smuggle drugs into the United States.
Experts have questioned the compliance with international law of the attacks, which have drawn sharp criticism from Latin American leaders whose citizens have been targeted since they began in September.
Combating the flow of illegal drugs is an important policy for US President Donald Trump; however, some suggested that the attacks were part of efforts to influence politically opposing governments in the region.
The boat targeted Saturday was operated by an organization designated as a terrorist organization and was traveling in international waters when it was hit, Hegseth said, without specifying which one.
The ship was traveling along a known drug smuggling route and was carrying narcotics, the official said, without providing evidence.
Announcements of these strikes are often accompanied by grainy images, but there is no evidence of alleged drug smuggling and little detail about who or what is on each ship.
Hegseth’s statement late Saturday was accompanied by a video showing a blurred boat moving through the water before the explosion.
The Trump administration has insisted it is targeting “narco terrorists.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro had previously described the attacks as “murder” and said they were used by the United States to “dominate” Latin America.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of “fabricating the war”.
The two left-wing leaders are increasingly at odds with the Trump administration.
Following Petro’s comments, the United States imposed sanctions on him and his inner circle and revoked Colombia’s certification as an ally in the fight against drugs. Trump has threatened military action against ground targets in Venezuela.
But he acknowledged that this may require approval from the US Congress.
But some U.S. lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, have said attacks on ships also require congressional approval; but Trump denied this.
Others questioned whether the deadly attacks were legal.
Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, said on Friday that such attacks were a violation of international human rights law.
“More than 60 people have reportedly been killed in a series of attacks carried out by US armed forces under conditions that have no justification under international law,” he said.
“These attacks and their increasing human cost are unacceptable.”
Latin American politics experts I suggested Strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific were part of a series of measures designed to effect change in Colombia and Venezuela.
While the United States was among many countries that deemed Maduro’s election last year illegitimate, Trump criticized Petro’s policies to combat the drug trade in his country, which has traditionally been an ally of the United States.
Washington has been building a force of warships, fighter jets, marines, spy planes, bombers and drones in the Caribbean over the past few months; frames it as part of a crackdown on drug trafficking, but military analysts say it’s much larger than necessary.
