United Nations urges US to stop airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats

The United States defended the operations, saying they were part of its anti-drug and counter-terrorism efforts.

The United Nations has called on the United States to immediately stop air strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific and prevent “extrajudicial killings of people.” “More than 60 people have been reported killed in a series of attacks by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, under conditions that find no justification in international law,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Friday.

“These attacks and their increasing human cost are unacceptable. The United States must stop such attacks and take all necessary measures to prevent the extrajudicial execution of the people on these boats, regardless of the crime alleged against them,” Turk said. he said.

The US military has intensified its operations against boats smuggling drugs in international waters in recent weeks. More than 4,500 Marines and sailors, supported by naval and air assets, have been deployed to the Caribbean to strengthen counternarcotics efforts against Venezuela.

According to Turk, air strikes on boats “allegedly linked to drug trafficking” are not justified under international law. “Air strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific allegedly linked to drug trafficking violate international human rights law and are unacceptable,” he said. He called on the United States to use appropriate law enforcement measures instead of lethal military force. “Authorities need to continue to use established law enforcement methods to respond to allegations of illegal trafficking, including the lawful interception of boats and the detention of suspects in accordance with applicable criminal law rules,” the UN human rights chief said. he added.

The United States defended the operations, saying they were part of its anti-drug and counter-terrorism efforts. President Donald Trump called the targeted boats “drug smuggling vessels” and said the attacks were necessary to stop the flow of drugs into the country, according to CBS News. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that a boat carrying drugs was targeted in the latest airstrike in the eastern Pacific, killing four people. This was the 14th attack since early September and the 15th boat destroyed. The number of deaths in these operations increased to at least 61.

Last week, the Trump administration signaled plans to target drug trafficking routes and cocaine facilities in Venezuela, although a final decision has not yet been made, according to CNN. Signs of a possible military build-up emerged when Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R Ford, the US Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier strike group, to be moved from Europe to the Caribbean. The deployment comes as Washington increases its presence in the region to target drug cartels and related criminal networks.

Turk rejected the claim that the strikes fell within the laws of war. “Combating the serious problem of illicit drug trafficking across international borders is a law enforcement matter governed by careful limitations on lethal force in international human rights law, as has long been recognized among States,” he said. Acknowledging the challenges of combating cross-border drug trafficking, the UN human rights chief called on Washington to comply with international law and fulfill its commitments under counter-narcotics treaties. Turk said, “The USA must act within the framework of international human rights law,” and emphasized that the murders cannot be justified even in the name of fighting crime.

(Except for the title, this news has not been edited by the DNA team and is published from ANI news agency).