US Military Bombs Suspected Drug Boats, 11 Dead

NOS News•Today, 01:07•Updated Today, 09:37

The U.S. Military has once again bombed three suspected drug boats in Latin American waters, resulting in eleven deaths. This marks one of the deadliest strikes in recent times against boats allegedly carrying drugs, according to the Trump administration.

In the Pacific Ocean, two boats with four people aboard each were struck, and in the Caribbean Sea, a boat with three people was targeted, as shown in images shared by the U.S. Military. The boats were reportedly traveling on known drug smuggling routes.

So far, 42 such attacks have occurred since September. To date, 145 people have been killed. The U.S. Generally provides no evidence for the claim that the boats were carrying drugs. Even if evidence exists, it is unclear under what legal framework the U.S. Operates.

“Simply eliminating suspects like that, you don’t do that on the street either,” said Fred Soons, emeritus professor of international law earlier to NOS.

President Trump states that America is at war with drug cartels in Latin America. He views the attacks as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. And appears to invoke a form of self-defense.

“The basis is extraordinarily thin, if not absent,” says political scientist Friso Dubbelboer, specializing in maritime conflicts. “International law doesn’t interest Trump; he undermines the law of the sea, and the only border he has is his moral compass,” Dubbelboer told NOS.

Where previously the arrows seemed to be aimed directly at the now captured Venezuelan leader Maduro, Trump now seems to be continuing the same line of the past few months.

The actions led to significant outrage within the United States late last year, from both Democrats, and Republicans.

During the first attack in September, the U.S. Allegedly used a camouflaged aircraft, discovered by The Novel York Times. The aircraft, which shot at a boat with eleven people on board, was reportedly repainted to look like a normal civilian aircraft. Experts say this constitutes a war crime.