“No justification”: UN human rights chief condemns “unacceptable” strikes on alleged drug boats

On Wednesday U S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated another boat in the Eastern Pacific was destroyed by the U S military for allegedly carrying drugs Four people onboard were killed marking the th such strike since Sept which have killed at least people with two survivors and one person missing The Trump administration has admitted they don t know who is on these boats and in fact don t find it particularly necessary to find out The administration also has yet to provide hard evidence that any of these destroyed boats plus one semi-submersible craft also known as a narco-submarine are definitely carrying drugs Speaking to CNN on Thursday Rep Sara Jacobs D-Calif detailed a briefing from Pentagon bureaucrats on the boat strikes They commented that they do not need to positively identify individuals on the vessel to do the strikes Jacobs also explained why the military has not attempted to detain or prosecute survivors because they could not satisfy the evidentiary burden Related Trump s phony war on Venezuela and his larger war on reality There s nothing that we heard in there that changes my assessment that this is thoroughly illegal that it is unlawful and even if Congress authorized it it would still be illegal because there are extrajudicial killings where we have no evidence Jacobs commented The U N s human rights chief Volker T rk seems to agree On Friday he demanded an end to the attacks saying they exist in circumstances that find no justification in international law T rk also called for immediate and independent research of the attacks These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable T rk stated in a message The U S must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them Under international human rights law the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life T rk added Earlier this week the Trump administration provided more than a dozen Senate Republicans excluding Democrats with a secret target list for the ongoing military campaign while also attempting to justify the legality of the strikes ABC News revealed that the new information suggested the administration was preparing for sustained operations against drug cartels and that it thought the military strikes could withstand likely legal challenges The coasts of a few Caribbean nations have emptied as of late as fear of the growing U S military presence and bombings has risen The Washington Post communicated that homes on Trinidad and Tobago an island nation near Venezuela are vacant while the waters on which Trinidadians have long relied for their food livelihoods and leisure no longer feel safe We are facing an extremely dangerous and untenable situation in the southern Caribbean Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley disclosed Saturday according to the Post Peace is critical to all that we do in this region and now that peace is being threatened Read more about human rights No place for newcomers Advocates fear expelled Venezuelans already being tortured in El Salvador What the UN s ruling on abortion in Ecuador and Nicaragua means for the rest of the world Trump s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy justifiable targets and legal authorization The post No justification UN human rights chief condemns unacceptable strikes on alleged drug boats appeared first on Salon com