Lawmakers across Americas urge US to end drug boat strike campaign

A coalition of more than 70 lawmakers from across the Americas has called on the U.S. government to end a campaign of lethal strikes against vessels it says are involved in drug smuggling in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. In a two-page statement released Tuesday, the lawmakers characterized the strikes as extrajudicial killings and stressed that the rights to life, due process and protection from arbitrary use of force are obligations their countries have committed to uphold. According to reporting cited by the lawmakers, the U.S. military began the campaign on Sept. 2, 2025, and has carried out at least 70 strikes, killing 234 people the U.S. has labeled "narco-terrorists." Human-rights advocates and legal experts cited by the statement argue these operations may violate international law. The lawmakers also warned that states could incur responsibility under international law if they provide support that facilitates internationally wrongful acts. The White House defended the campaign through a statement from spokesperson Anna Kelly, saying the strikes target designated narcoterrorists and form part of efforts to reduce the flow of illicit drugs and dismantle transnational trafficking networks. At the same time, a top U.N. human-rights expert, Ben Saul, has written that the strikes appear to breach international law and could amount to crimes against humanity, arguing that the right of self-defense does not apply to criminal groups unless they have mounted an armed attack on the United States. U.S. forces in the Southern Command area have also adjusted tactics for larger vessels the military describes as "floating refueling stations," shifting in some cases to boarding and removing crews from repurposed fishing boats before striking them. Lawmakers urged that cooperation to combat trafficking be rooted in international law, respect for human rights and national sovereignty, and called for accountability, transparency and democratic oversight of security policies.