The US has seized survivors of a military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the first since Donald Trump began launching deadly attacks in the region last month, according to officials in Washington.
They confirmed the strike on the condition of anonymity because it has not yet been publicly acknowledged by the Trump administration.
Juanita Goebertus Estrada, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said the attacks violated international human rights law and amounted to extrajudicial executions.
“The US is not engaged in an armed conflict with Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, or with alleged criminal groups involved.
Under human rights law standards, officials engaging in law enforcement must seek to minimize injury and preserve human life.
Officials in Washington say the United States has arrested survivors of a military attack on a suspected drug-carrying ship in the Caribbean, the first it has done since Donald Trump started carrying out deadly attacks there last month.
Trump later acknowledged the assault, telling reporters that a narco-submarine was the target ship.
During his visit to the White House with the Ukrainian president, Trump declared, “We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs.”.
Drug lords in Colombia began smuggling cocaine through the Caribbean to Mexico and the United States in the 1980s using narco-subs, which are specially designed semi-submersible boats that move just beneath the water’s surface.
In the recent past, criminals have become much more ambitious, commissioning fiberglass constructions to transport massive quantities of cocaine across thousands of miles.
At least six strikes have occurred in the waters off Venezuela since early September, according to reports, and Thursday’s attack was the first to result in survivors who were taken by US military personnel. What would happen to the survivors, who the officials claimed were being detained on a US navy ship, was not immediately clear.
Since the Trump administration has not yet publicly acknowledged the strike, they confirmed it on the condition of anonymity.
With this Thursday’s strike, at least 28 people have been killed as a result of US military action against vessels in the area.
Using the same legal justification that the Bush administration employed when it proclaimed a “war on terror” following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Trump defended the strikes by claiming that the US was involved in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. This involves having the capacity to apprehend and imprison fighters as well as employ deadly force to remove their leaders.
Legal experts argue that the president’s use of crippling military force against the cartels and his approval of clandestine operations inside Venezuela, potentially aimed at toppling President Nicolás Maduro, violate international law.
The legal environment and future of the strike survivors are currently uncertain, with concerns arising over whether they are now viewed as defendants in a criminal case or as prisoners of war. Regarding the strike, the White House made no remarks.
According to Juanita Goebertus Estrada, director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division, the attacks constituted extrajudicial executions and were against international human rights law.
“There is no armed conflict between the United States and Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, or the alleged criminal groups involved.”. Law enforcement personnel are required to minimize harm and protect human life in accordance with human rights law standards. Only in extreme cases, when there is an immediate risk of death or severe injury, may they employ lethal force.
“The United States authorities did not attempt to minimize damage in the various recent strikes in the Caribbean, nor have they attempted to prove that the people on board vessels constituted an immediate threat to life,” she said.
The attacks coincide with Trump intensifying a standoff with the Venezuelan government and a US military buildup in the Caribbean that includes approximately 6,500 troops, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine, and guided missile destroyers.
In Caracas, Trump’s Wednesday revelation that he had given the CIA permission to carry out secret operations inside Venezuela fueled rumors that the US is trying to overthrow Maduro.
On Capitol Hill, both Democrats and Republicans are feeling uneasy about the strikes in the Caribbean. Some Republicans claim they have not been given enough information about the strikes’ methods. Intelligence officials and representatives of South and Central American military command structures were not included in a classified briefing given to senators earlier this month on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
But last week, when a war powers resolution was put to a vote, the majority of Senate Republicans supported the administration, which would have required the administration to obtain congressional approval before launching additional strikes.
Reporting was provided by Reuters and the Associated Press.
