The US air strikes in Latin America and the Caribbean which have killed at least 57 people since early September are illegal, and Congress must act now to stop the US government from carrying out further bombings, Amnesty International said today.
“In the last two months, the US military’s Southern Command has gone on a murder spree by following the Trump administration’s illegal orders,” said Daphne Eviatar, Amnesty International USA’s Director for Human Rights and Security. “The administration has not even named its victims, nor provided evidence of their alleged crimes. But even if they did, intentionally killing people accused of committing crimes who pose no imminent threat to life is murder, full stop.
“It is well past time for Congress to exercise its oversight role over the administration’s unlawful behavior, put an end to these illegal air strikes, and hold those responsible for these murders accountable.”
No Evidence or Legal Basis
US officials have announced thirteen air strikes around Latin America so far, with eight in the Caribbean and five in the Pacific. The Trump administration has tried to justify its actions by claiming—without presenting any evidence—that the targets were drug-smuggling “narco-terrorists.”
Stopping suspected drug boats is a law enforcement operation, subject to international human rights law, which holds that all people have the rights to life and a fair trial and only allows states to use lethal force when an imminent threat to life exists and less extreme means, like capture, are insufficient.
A state intentionally killing someone outside those circumstances is committing an extrajudicial killing, a form of murder, no matter any alleged crime the victim might have committed.
In the case of these bombings, the Trump administration has not provided any proof that its victims posed imminent threats to human life. Even if the boats or individuals were smuggling narcotics, carrying such drugs alone is not an imminent threat to life that could possibly justify using lethal force.
Administration officials have also not shown that they could not have stopped and boarded the vessels, as the US Coast Guard does regularly. In fact, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the US could have intercepted the first boat they struck but chose to bomb it instead.
“The U.S. SOUTHCOM air strikes are rogue actions by an administration acting lawlessly,” said Daphne Eviatar. “If Trump’s administration wants to address drug addiction, it should fully fund public health programs for treatment and prevention in the US. instead of illegally blowing up boats in Latin America and the Caribbean. Regardless of the crimes committed by drug cartels, it is a crime under both international and domestic law for US officials to execute someone they claim is part of a drug cartel transporting drugs. They cannot do that on the streets of the US, and they cannot do that in international waters.”
The Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Are Not Warzones
Administration officials have claimed the US is “at war” with drug cartels, suggesting the administration believes the laws of war, which permit killing enemy fighters on the battlefield, apply to the Caribbean and Pacific. That argument is wrong.
The US is not party to any armed conflict in the Caribbean or Latin America. No one, including drug traffickers, has attacked the US in any way that would justify a military response.
Further, Congress has not authorized using military force against cartels. However, even if Congress does so, these air strikes remain illegal under international human rights law.
“The laws of war simply do not apply here. The Caribbean and eastern Pacific are not warzones where the US military can bomb boats the White House claims carry enemies,” said Daniel Noroña, Amnesty International USA’s Advocacy Director for the Americas. “Deploying the army on alleged law enforcement grounds is an old and failed trick of the authoritarian playbook that has repeatedly led to serious human rights violations in Latin America. These air strikes also send a chilling message of tacit approval to other leaders seeking to extrajudicially execute people.”
Congress Must Act to Stop US Airstrikes
Congress must do everything in its power to stop these air strikes so the administration does not murder more people abroad or in the US.
Congress must also demand that the people responsible for these killings are brought to justice, including both the direct perpetrators and the people who gave the orders. To that end, lawmakers must undertake thorough and independent investigations, reaching the highest levels of the US government, to determine responsibility.
Already, President Donald Trump has publicly claimed responsibility for ordering the killings. Both he and senior administration officials have also openly bragged about them while dismissing congressional oversight and concerns about international law.
“Congress, the US public, and the international community should be ringing every alarm bell to put an end to these dehumanizing, cynical air strikes, and demand accountability,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Americas Director. “Human life cannot be left to the mercy of a ruler’s whim. No president has the right to kill arbitrarily and without accountability.”
