US military says three killed in its strike on vessel in Eastern Pacific
- The US military's strikes on such vessels have killed more than 200 people since September
The US military killed three individuals in an Eastern Pacific vessel strike, labeling them "narco-terrorists," while human rights groups condemn these actions as unlawful extrajudicial killings.
- Legality concerns over US military vessel strikes.
- Human rights groups' condemnation of these killings.
- The Trump administration's anti-narcotics vessel policy.
WASHINGTON: The US military said on Thursday its strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific killed three males, marking the latest such attack that human rights groups call extrajudicial killings and Washington casts as targeting of “narco-terrorists.”
“Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No US military forces were harmed,” the US Southern Command said late on Thursday.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been striking vessels that it accuses of transporting narcotics.
Experts and human rights advocates, both in the U.S. and globally, have questioned the legality of the strikes.
The US military’s strikes on such vessels have killed more than 200 people since September.
The Southern Command said the vessel targeted on Thursday was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” and was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes.”
It did not identify the organizations or the individuals and did not provide details on its claims.
The US military has issued near-identical statements after such strikes.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International consider such strikes unlawful extrajudicial killings.
The American Civil Liberties Union casts the assertions by the Trump administration against those it targets as “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims.”