Geneva [Switzerland], October 31 : The United Nations has urged the United States to immediately stop airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and prevent the "extrajudicial killing of people."
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Friday that "over 60 people have reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that find no justification in international law."
"These attacks, and their mounting human cost, are unacceptable. The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them," Turk added.
In recent weeks, the US military has intensified operations against drug-smuggling boats in international waters.
More than 4,500 Marines and sailors, backed by naval and air assets, have been stationed in the Caribbean to strengthen anti-narcotics efforts against Venezuela.
According to Turk, airstrikes on boats "allegedly linked to drug trafficking" are not justified under international law. "Airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, allegedly linked to drug trafficking, violate international human rights law and are unacceptable," he said.
He called on the US to use proper law enforcement measures instead of lethal military force. "The authorities must maintain use of well-established law enforcement methods to respond to alleged illicit trafficking, including through lawfully intercepting boats and detaining suspects under the applicable rules of criminal law," the UN rights chief added.
The United States has defended the operations, saying they are part of anti-drug and counterterrorism efforts. President Donald Trump has called the targeted boats "narco-trafficking vessels" and said the attacks are needed to stop the flow of drugs into the country, as per CBS News.
US War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the latest airstrike in the eastern Pacific targeted a boat carrying drugs, killing four people. It was the 14th strike since early September and the 15th boat destroyed. The total death toll from these operations has risen to at least 61.
Last week Trump administration also hinted towards plans to target drug-trafficking routes and cocaine facilities inside Venezuela, though a final decision has not yet been made, according to CNN.
Signs of a possible military buildup emerged, with War Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering the US Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Gerald R Ford, to move 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 argument that the strikes fall under the laws of war. "Countering the serious issue of illicit trafficking of drugs across international borders is, as has long been agreed among States, a law-enforcement matter, governed by the careful limits on lethal force set out in international human rights law," he said.
While acknowledging the challenges of tackling cross-border drug trafficking, the UN human rights chief urged Washington to follow international law and honour its commitments under anti-narcotics treaties.
"The US must act within the bounds of international human rights law," Turk said, stressing that the killings cannot be justified even in the name of combating crime.
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