CMC – As United States President Donald Trump steps up military build-up in the Caribbean Sea, Amnesty International is warning that any airstrikes authorised by Congress would violate international human rights law and could amount to unlawful executions.
Responding to the reported circulation of a draft resolution in the US Congress to authorise the use of military force against alleged drug traffickers, Amnesty International USA’s Director of Security and Human Rights, Daphne Eviatar said that, if US legislators authorise using military force against suspected drug traffickers, “it would not change the fact that such lethal strikes amount to extrajudicial executions and have no legal justification whatsoever under international human rights law”.
“Congress must not rubber stamp further unlawful strikes and should instead work to hold the administration accountable for its illegal actions,” said Eviatar, noting that reports indicate that a draft resolution has circulated in the US Congress to authorise military force against “groups that the executive branch designates as terrorists and that Mr Trump determines, in consultation with Congress, have either trafficked in drugs to finance terrorist activities or used terrorist tactics to advance narcotics-related enterprises.”
On September 3, Trump said the US military bombed a boat allegedly departed from Venezuela, killing 11 people.
On September 15, Trump also claimed responsibility for another lethal airstrike on an alleged boat carrying drugs in the Caribbean, reportedly killing three people.
On Friday, Trump said that the US military has conducted a third airstrike on a vessel allegedly laden with drugs in the Caribbean Sea.
“Under international human rights law, intentional lethal force can only be used when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat, and when no less harmful means, such as capture, are available,” Eviatar said. “Moreover, any use of lethal force must be proportionate to the threat faced in the prevailing circumstances, particularly with a view to minimising risks posed to human life and personal integrity.”
On Friday, US Senators Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff introduced a War Powers Act resolution that would block use of US Armed Forces to engage in hostilities against certain non-state organisations following multiple unauthorised military strikes on unverified alleged drug trafficking operations in the Southern Caribbean Sea.
“President Trump has no legal authority to launch strikes or use military force in the Caribbean or elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere,” said Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, stating that the Trump administration has refused to provide the US Congress with basic information about the multiple strikes it has carried out, including who was killed, why it was necessary to put servicemembers’ lives at risk, and why a standard interdiction operation wasn’t conducted.
Schiff, Democrat of California, added, “While we share with the executive branch the imperative of preventing and deterring drugs from reaching our shores, blowing up boats without any legal justification risks dragging the United States into another war and provoking unjustified hostilities against our own citizens.”
The resolution reaffirms that trafficking of illegal drugs does not itself constitute an armed attack or threat of an imminent armed attack that would justify military action, and that the designation of an entity as a foreign terrorist organisation does not provide any legal authority to the US President to use military force.
It also emphasises the importance of Congress retaining its power to declare war as President Trump has stated that “it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that will be necessary.”
The resolution reiterates the lawmakers’ commitment to providing the Executive Branch the resources necessary to prevent and mitigate drug and narcotics trafficking into the United States.
Trump has warned that the military strikes would expand to land, potentially triggering a land war with Venezuela.
“We’re telling the cartels right now we’re going to be stopping them, too. When they come by land, we’re going to be stopping them the same way we stopped the boats,” he said. “But maybe by talking about it a little bit, it won’t happen. If it doesn’t happen, that’s good.”
On Saturday, Venezuela Attorney General Tarek William Saab urged the United Nations to investigate “crimes against humanity” allegedly conducted by US Forces in the Caribbean.
“The use of missiles and nuclear weapons to serially murder defenceless fishermen on a small boat are crimes against humanity that must be investigated by the UN,’” said Saab in a statement.
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