‘Can’t Summarily Kill People Accused of Smuggling Drugs’

A leading human rights organization has condemned recent U.S. military strikes on Venezuelan boats that the Trump administration said killed at least 14 people, calling them “unlawful extrajudicial killings”.

“US officials cannot summarily kill people they accuse of smuggling drugs,” said Sarah Yager, Washington director of Human Rights Watch on Wednesday, through an official statement on Wednedsay, adding that “the problem of narcotics entering the United States is not an armed conflict, and US officials cannot circumvent their human rights obligations by pretending otherwise.”

The first incident occurred on September 2, when President Donald Trump announced U.S. forces had destroyed a Venezuelan speedboat in international waters, killing 11 people. Trump said the boat was operated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

On September 15, Trump announced a second strike, also in international waters, that killed three men. Footage showed a vessel idling with at least two figures aboard before an explosion engulfed it. In his post, Trump warned: “BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!”

Both attacks, Human Rights Watch said, violated international human rights law, which permits the use of lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect against an imminent threat to life. Alternatives such as interdiction or arrest were not attempted, the group noted.

United Nations human rights experts also condemned the strikes earlier this week, labeling them “extrajudicial executions.” In a joint statement, they stressed that “international law does not allow governments to simply murder alleged drug traffickers” and rejected U.S. claims that the actions were justified as self-defense.

The incidents come amid a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, framed by the administration as counter-narcotics operations but denounced by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as preparations for regime change.

Human Rights Watch further criticized recent policy changes within the U.S. military that relaxed legal oversight of airstrikes and raids, warning that these shifts increase the risk of unlawful operations. It also urged Congress to investigate the decision-making process and ensure future actions comply with human rights law.