GENEVA — The United Nations’ top human rights official has strongly condemned U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying illegal drugs from South America, calling the attacks “unacceptable” and demanding they stop immediately.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged a full investigation into the strikes, which appear to mark the first public censure of U.S. anti-drug operations by a UN body.
“These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for Türk’s office, at a regular UN briefing Friday. “The United States must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”
Shamdasani stressed that airstrikes targeting vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific “violate international human rights law,” highlighting the inherent risks of lethal force in operations that fall outside traditional armed conflict.
President Donald Trump has defended the strikes as a necessary step to curb the flow of drugs into the United States. But the campaign, now underway since early September, has drawn criticism from regional governments and international observers alike.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest strike Wednesday against a vessel he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, noting that all four people aboard were killed. It was the 14th strike in the ongoing campaign, which has so far resulted in at least 61 deaths.
Shamdasani emphasized that, while the U.S. frames the operations as part of an anti-drug and counterterrorism effort, international norms clearly limit the use of lethal force. “Intentional use of lethal force is allowed only as a last resort against someone representing an imminent threat to life. Otherwise, it constitutes a violation of the right to life and amounts to extrajudicial killing,” she said.
She added that these strikes occur “outside the context” of armed conflict or active hostilities, further underscoring the human rights concerns raised by the UN.
The UN’s call comes amid growing debate in the region about the balance between aggressive anti-drug strategies and adherence to international law, with critics warning that military interventions in drug trafficking risk civilian casualties and diplomatic tensions.