HRW urges US to account for 227 deaths in attacks on suspected drug boats

Human Rights Watch is demanding urgent accountability from the US government over the deaths of at least 227 people in attacks on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean during the past year. The organization described the killings as “extrajudicial executions.”

Ida Sawyer, HRW’s director of Crisis, Conflict and Arms, said the government of Donald Trump had killed more than 200 people in “summary execution” conditions, publicly boasted about the deaths and faced no accountability. HRW said killing people at sea without a prior trial, regardless of their suspected involvement in criminal activity, violates international law.

The organization called on the US Congress to consider creating a special investigative committee to determine who authorized and carried out the lethal attacks. It also urged the Justice Department to investigate the deaths and pursue criminal action. If the current authorities do not do so, HRW said future administrations should make it a priority.

“

The government of Donald Trump has killed more than 200 people in summary execution conditions over the past year, publicly boasted about these deaths and faced no accountability.

HRW also appealed to governments cooperating with US drug-interdiction efforts in the region. It urged them to condemn the deaths, stop sharing intelligence that could enable the attacks and raise concerns about possible violations of international law directly with US officials.

The group said Washington had refused to publish a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memorandum reportedly justifying the deaths on the grounds that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with Latin American drug-trafficking groups. HRW said the US has also withheld other details about the attacks.

“

Killing people at sea without a prior trial, regardless of their alleged involvement in criminal activities, constitutes a violation of international law.