The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced its 47th military strike on a vessel allegedly involved in drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of four individuals. This latest attack brings the total number of people killed in the ongoing Operation Southern Spear to approximately 163. The US military command described the action as “applying total systemic friction on the cartels,” but provided no details to identify the so-called “terrorist organization” operating the vessel or the identities of those on board.
The Trump administration has repeatedly argued that such lethal tactics are necessary to curb drug trafficking into the US. However, legal experts and human rights officials have condemned the strikes as a campaign of extrajudicial killings. Since the operation began in September, only three survivors have been recovered from the waters, with others presumed dead. Critics highlight a particularly controversial incident on September 2, where two survivors were killed in a subsequent “double-tap” strike as they clung to wreckage—a move widely viewed as a violation of international and domestic law.
Families in Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago have come forward, claiming the victims were not “narco-terrorists” as alleged by the US regime, but rather fishermen and informal workers traveling between Caribbean islands and South America. On March 12, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held an inaugural hearing to address the human rights implications of Trump’s campaign. UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul reportedly told the commission that these “unprovoked serial extrajudicial killings have no justification under international law.”
The Trump administration’s militaristic push against drug cartels in Latin America has faced mounting legal and ethical scrutiny. Despite reportedly asserting in a memo to Congress that drug traffickers are equivalent to “unlawful combatants,” the administration has yet to release its official legal justification for the attacks. Government watchdogs have filed lawsuits to compel disclosure of this memo and other materials related to the strikes, underscoring the lack of transparency and accountability in the operation.
Overall, the campaign has been decried as an act of illegal aggression, with experts emphasizing that drug trafficking is a crime, not an act of war, thereby rendering lethal military action unlawful. The failure to identify victims or release evidence against them further fuels criticism of the US regime’s approach, raising serious concerns about its adherence to international norms and human rights standards.
Source: www.aljazeera.com