US drug boat strikes and UN war crimes allegations 2026
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US military strike kills five on suspected drug-trafficking vessel in eastern Pacific
Legal experts have questioned the legal basis for using lethal military force against suspected drug traffickers outside a traditional battlefield.
SOUTHCOM described those killed as narco-terrorists.
The Associated Press reported the campaign has resulted in at least 240 deaths from more than 70 strikes.
US military strike on alleged drug vessel in eastern Pacific kills five
Legal experts and rights groups argue the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings because they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the US.
The strike occurred on a Tuesday.
Collectively, the more than 70 attacks have killed more than 240 people.
The human cost of surging US air strikes in Somalia
Puntland’s Criminal Investigation Department said Omar Abdullahi had no criminal record and was not under investigation.
AFRICOM public records listed 84 strikes in Somalia through September 2026.
Maryam Haji Abdi Guled's son, Abdiqadir Salah, was seven years old when he was injured during a November 2025 military offensive in southern Somalia.
Families of Trinidadian men killed in US boat strike demand accountability
The ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights are representing the families in the lawsuit.
A missile struck a vessel returning to Trinidad and Tobago from Venezuela on October 14, 2025.
The US military has been attacking small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September 2025 on the basis that they were transporting narco-terrorists.
Alleged narco boat erupts in fireball during US military strike
Sen. Rand Paul has raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.
The military described the vessel as a go-fast vessel.
Guatemala denied reaching a deal to allow U.S. joint military operations on its soil.
US military strike on alleged drug boat kills four in Caribbean
At least 235 deaths have resulted from 70 US military boat strikes since Operation Southern Spear was launched in September of last year.
Trump characterized the fight against cartels in Latin America as an active armed conflict.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in August that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to joint counter-crime military operations on their soil.
US could be forced to release justification for boat strikes on drug traffickers
The Defense Department general counsel attested that the memo is held in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) in his office.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the judge's ruling.
ACLU attorney Jeffrey Stein said the judge's order is a huge step toward ensuring the government does not get to summarily execute people based on secret law.
“Using [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan] Caine's locution, it would be possible for a commander to 'rigorously follow' the guidance in the Memo without having seen it, if, for example, its essential conclusions had been communicated by other means,”
UN says US strikes on alleged drug boats may be 'crimes against humanity'
Ben Saul is the UN's special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism.
The report stated that the US military attacks are contrary to international law, violate the human right to life, and plausibly constitute crimes against humanity.
The report said the US attacks violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which permits lethal force only as a last resort against an imminent threat.
“Meanwhile, it has been estimated that the military operations had cost US$4.7 billion by mid-2026 – funds that could have instead been spent on evidence-based law enforcement, public health, and developmental interventions,”
UN expert says US strikes on drug boats may constitute crimes against humanity
The boat strikes have been carried out since September 2025 on the stated grounds of stopping drugs being trafficked by sea to the US.
Saul wrote that the crews were not militarily armed and did not possess the intent and capacity to launch military attacks against the US.
Journalists and human rights groups have identified some victims who were innocent or, when suspected of criminal activity, were at best low-ranked participants in trafficking networks.