In short
- UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul found reasonable grounds to believe that 68 US strikes which killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law.
- The UN Human Rights Council briefing note covers at least 68 US strikes since September 2025 in the Caribbean and Pacific, outside US territorial waters, which killed more than 220 people.
- Southcom said the US military killed four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean two days before the report was released.
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said Operation Southern Spear, launched in early September, aims to remove “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere”.
A UN report has concluded that at least 68 US airstrikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific breached international law and could amount to crimes against humanity, with Special Rapporteur Ben Saul finding they killed 223 people. The briefing note was released by the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.
What did the UN report conclude?
Special Rapporteur Ben Saul said the strikes violated the right to life. “Such attacks amount to serial extrajudicial killings in violation of the right to life, being unjustified in national or personal self-defence or under international humanitarian law, the international law of the sea, narcotics suppression conventions, or international counter-terrorism law,” he said.
Saul concluded: “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law.” He said that even if those targeted could be identified as members of designated terrorist groups, they had not staged an armed attack on the United States that would trigger a right to self-defence under international law.
How many strikes and deaths are reported?
The report covers at least 68 US strikes since September 2025 in the Caribbean and Pacific, outside US territorial waters. Saul said they killed more than 220 people, and put the figure at 223 in his conclusion that the attacks may amount to crimes against humanity of murder.
What was the latest US strike?
The report came two days after the US military said it killed four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean. Southcom, which commands US forces in the region, said in a statement: “Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed four narco-terrorists.” The statement was accompanied by a grainy video.
What has the US said about Operation Southern Spear?
The US military launched the operation, known as Southern Spear, in early September. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously said the overall operation is aimed at removing “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere” and securing the US from “the drugs that are killing our people”. Officials have not offered definitive evidence that the vessels targeted are involved in trafficking. Separately, the US dropped Venezuela and Bolivia from its drug non-compliance list.
How have Latin American governments responded?
The strikes drew strong criticism from Latin American leaders whose citizens were targeted, and experts have questioned their legality since the operation began. Nicolás Maduro, then Venezuela’s president and an opponent of the strikes, was seized by US forces in a night-time raid on Caracas in early 2026. Colombia’s left-wing president at the time, Gustavo Petro, another outspoken critic of Operation Southern Spear, stood down in August after a Trump-backed candidate won June’s presidential election. Separately, a US-led firm won 100-year rights to 17 Venezuelan oilfields.
Frequently asked questions
What did the UN report say about US strikes on alleged drug boats?
UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that 68 US strikes which killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder, and that the attacks amount to serial extrajudicial killings.
How many people have been killed in US strikes on alleged drug vessels?
Saul reported at least 68 US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific since September 2025 killed more than 220 people, and put the figure at 223 in his conclusion that the attacks may be crimes against humanity.
Has the United States responded to the UN report?
No US response to the report has been disclosed. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously said Operation Southern Spear aims to remove “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere”.
What is Operation Southern Spear?
It is the US military operation launched in early September targeting vessels Washington says are involved in drug trafficking, which Hegseth described as aimed at securing the US from “the drugs that are killing our people”.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
