UN expert says US boat strikes may constitute crimes against humanity
Special Rapporteur Ben Saul says 68 strikes killed at least 223 people, while Washington maintains the operations are necessary to stop lethal drugs reaching the US.
US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific were illegal and may plausibly constitute crimes against humanity, according to a report by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul.
The report says 68 attacks between September 2025 and August 2026 killed at least 223 people and involved the illegal use of disproportionate force. Two further attacks reportedly raised the toll to 234 people across 70 strikes, including a recent operation in which the US military said four people died.
Saul said drug trafficking was not equivalent to a military attack and found no evidence that the targeted boats had attacked the US or acted as proxies for another country. The report called for internal investigations and accountability for commanders involved.
The Trump administration has framed the operations as part of a military conflict, describing drug shipments as an armed attack on US territory. Washington says the strikes are necessary to prevent lethal drugs reaching the country and says legal officers assess each operation.
The report also questioned the legality of the reported abduction of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and related regional counter-narcotics cooperation. It said the boat strikes had failed to prevent cocaine entering the US on container ships.
The alleged trafficking links and casualty figures have not been independently established in the supplied material. Critics say the US has not provided evidence that the targeted boats carried drugs, while some families maintain those killed were fishermen. The report’s language is a legal assessment by a special rapporteur, not a final judicial finding.
