The United States has conducted military attacks on various vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. A UN human rights expert has remarked that these actions constitute a clear violation of international law and could amount to crimes against humanity.
In a report released on Monday, Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, stated that US forces attacked 68 vessels in international waters between September 2025 and August of this year, resulting in at least 223 deaths. Al Jazeera Online reported this news.
The report notes that the US justifies these attacks against alleged “narco-terrorists” as measures of self-defense. US President Donald Trump had also informed Congress that these operations were part of direct armed conflicts with terrorist organizations. However, the UN report categorically rejects this argument. It states that the US military attacks contravene international law; such attacks violate the right to life and amount to crimes against humanity. These killings were carried out systematically under established state policy. The report calls for the prosecution of those responsible—including US policymakers and military leaders—and for compensation to be paid to the families of the deceased.
The report also raises serious questions regarding the effectiveness of these operations. It points out that there has been no change in the rate of cocaine seizures at US borders. This is because the majority of drugs transported by sea move via large container ships rather than small vessels. Furthermore, the primary causes of fatal overdoses in the US are fentanyl and opioids—substances that do not arrive by sea from Venezuela. Consequently, killing low-level operatives actually hinders efforts to apprehend the kingpins of major criminal syndicates. Approximately $4.7 billion (roughly 57,866 crore Bangladeshi Taka) has been spent on these military operations through mid-2026.
