UN Report Warns US Boat Strikes in Caribbean and Pacific May Constitute Crimes Against Humanity

A United Nations report has concluded that US military strikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific are illegal and could amount to crimes against humanity. Published on Monday, the report by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul stated that attacks on 68 vessels between September of last year and August resulted in at least 223 deaths and involved the unlawful use of disproportionate force. These findings emerged just days after the US military reported a fresh attack on another vessel, resulting in four fatalities.

The administration of US President Donald Trump frames these maritime operations as part of an ongoing military conflict necessary to halt the entry of lethal drugs into the United States, characterizing the shipments as an armed attack on US soil. However, the UN report dismissed these justifications, stating that the operations lack justification under both domestic and international law and constitute serial extrajudicial killings that violate the right to life.

Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, emphasized that drug trafficking does not equate to a military attack. The report also questioned the legality of the US abduction of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, which resulted in 75 deaths, alongside regional collaborations under the Trump administration's Shield of the Americas initiative. The UN called for internal investigations and accountability for the commanders involved.

Since Washington began targeting vessels suspected of smuggling drugs from Venezuela to the US last September, the US military has frequently published social media videos of the strikes without providing evidence linking the victims to drug trafficking. Critics and families have repeatedly asserted that the casualties were innocent fishermen. Furthermore, the report noted that the strikes have failed to stop the influx of cocaine arriving via commercial container ships.

The operations have also faced intense scrutiny from US Congress, particularly following allegations surrounding a double-tap strike on September 2, 2025, which killed 11 people in an initial attack followed by a secondary strike on survivors. While lawmakers questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the orders, senior military commanders testified that he did not issue them. Legal challenges have also been initiated by families of the victims in US federal courts and through human rights complaints filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Prosecuting these actions as crimes against humanity remains legally complex, as such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US is not a member of the ICC, and American courts currently lack federal laws criminalizing crimes against humanity, with the Trump administration maintaining a hostile stance toward the court.