Death Toll From U.S. Strikes On Alleged Drug Boats Now Stands Close To 150

The death toll from U.S. strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific now stands close to 150 following the latest operations in the region.

The Southern Command detailed that it conducted "three lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" this week. Two of them were struck in the Eastern Pacific and the remaining one in the Caribbean.

"Eleven male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions, 4 on the first vessel in the Eastern Pacific, 4 on the second vessel in the Eastern Pacific, and 3 on the third vessel in the Caribbean. No U.S. military forces were harmed," the publication added.

Overall, the U.S. has conducted 42 known strikes against alleged drug vessels, killing at least 145 people since operations began in September.

The Trump administration has told Congress it considers itself to be in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels and has labeled those killed as "unlawful combatants," citing a classified Justice Department finding that it says permits lethal action without judicial review.

Critics have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the strikes, and family members of two men killed in one of the strikes have sued the U.S. government for wrongful death.

As noted by NPR in late January, the case is the first lawsuit over the strikes to reach a U.S. federal court since the operation began. There, relatives of Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, said the men were killed in a strike on October 14.

In the filing, both Joseph and Samaroo are described as fishermen who had been doing farm work in Venezuela and had no ties to drug trafficking. Court records show they were heading home when the strike occurred and are presumed dead, NPR reported.

The lawsuit states that neither man posed a concrete or imminent threat of death or danger and that the use of lethal force could have been avoided during the operation.

The suit argues the strike violated the Death on the High Seas Act, which holds the U.S. government liable when negligence by its agents results in wrongful death more than three miles off American shores. A second claim alleges violations of the Alien Tort Statute, which allows foreign citizens to sue over human rights violations, including deaths occurring outside an armed conflict and without judicial process.

Originally published on Latin Times

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United States, Caribbean, Pacific