Deaths from U.S. attacks on boats the Trump administration has accused of smuggling drugs have hit three figures.
The reported death toll had reached 99 on December 17 after the U.S. military had said four people were killed following a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean that U.S. Southern Command said was operated by narco-terrorists along a trafficking route.
The latest strike, which took place on December 18, has taken the number of reported deaths to over 100, amid growing criticism from some lawmakers and rights groups about the operations’ transparency and legality.
In a statement to Newsweek, Amnesty International USA Director of Security and Human Rights Daphne Eviatar said the campaign by Trump “signals the administration’s total disregard for the law.”
Why It Matters
Since September, the U.S. military has undertaken airstrikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific allegedly targeting drug cartels, which White House officials refer to as “narco-terrorists.”
The milestone of 100 will add to the scrutiny of the Trump administration’s actions amid criticism that there is no evidence for its claims that it is stemming the flow of drugs, in particular linked to Venezuela and the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
What To Know
The latest strikes by the U.S. took place on Thursday in the Eastern Pacific against two vessels allegedly operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” according to the U.S. Southern Command, which added that five people were killed—three in the first boat and two in the second—and that no U.S. troops were harmed.
The Trump administration has said its campaign is needed to stem the flow of drugs into the United States as part of an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. On December 17, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel engaged in “narcotrafficking operations” had killed four people.
On the same day, House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions that would have required the Trump administration to seek congressional authorization before conducting the strikes. Most Senate Republicans had previously opposed similar resolutions, and Trump would likely veto them if they passed Congress.
Trump has ordered a major military deployment off the coast of Venezuela and announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, as he accused Caracas of using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes.
It adds to pressure on Maduro, who has accused the U.S. of seeking regime change, rather than stopping drug trafficking.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president is required to consult Congress before introducing armed forces into hostilities, unless there has been a declaration of war or other congressional authorization. The White House has said this does not apply because the boat strikes do not put service members in harm’s way.
Eviatar, from Amnesty International USA, said that Congress must do everything in its power “to rein in this administration’s lawless behavior” and use its oversight power to ask how these decisions are made, what intelligence is being used, and what the legal justification was.
The announcement comes a day after Trump said he had instituted a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. He accused Venezuela of using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to escalate the military build-up.
What People Are Saying
Amnesty International USA Director of Security and Human Rights Daphne Eviatar, in a statement: “Intercepting purported drug boats is a law enforcement operation, subject to policing standards derived from international human rights law, which holds that all people have the rights to life and to a fair trial and only allows states to use lethal force when an imminent threat to life exists and less extreme means, like capture, are insufficient.”
What Happens Next
The milestone of 100 dead in U.S. strikes on vessels will likely raise further questions from U.S. lawmakers over the Trump administration’s actions, and add to speculation over whether the “Southern Spear” operation will expand and if the president will launch direct attacks on Venezuela.
