More than 60 NGOs asked the US Congress this Wednesday to stop the military campaign of US President Donald Trump in the Caribbean, and warned that this could lead to “a regional war,” reports EFE.
In a letter addressed to the US Congress, the organizations affirm that the Government has not provided “any valid legal justification for these attacks” nor evidence to support that the victims posed a threat to the country’s security.
In the letter, they say they fear that if Congress does not act with “determination” there will be “more attacks” and “more extrajudicial executions.”
Likewise, they warn of the possibility of unleashing an “open and unlimited war” with one or more countries in the region, with “probably devastating” humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.
Venezuela is not a drug trafficking country
The organizations also point out that Venezuela plays a “relatively minor” role in regional drug trafficking, and emphasize that less than 10% of cocaine shipments to the US transit through the Caribbean country.
“President Trump and Secretary (Marco) Rubio should seriously reflect before promoting a policy of military escalation against Venezuela,” they wrote.
The signatories ask Congress to reverse the US military deployment. in the Caribbean and to support a War Powers Resolution that ends unauthorized military actions in the region.
It is worth remembering that on October 6, the Trump administration was accused of having undertaken a dangerous legal and military maneuver that, far from combating drug trafficking with transparency and legality, seems to be moving towards the legalization of extrajudicial murders in the Caribbean.
In that sense, the Department of Justice elaborated a classified legal opinion that allows the president to order lethal attacks against a secret list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, without the need to present evidence or undergo legal review, according to a CNN investigation.
Also this October 8, 5 Democratic congressmen wrote a letter to Trump in which they highlight the “lack of transparency” of his Administration regarding this matter.
They asked the US president to provide a list of all the organizations he has designated as terrorists and details about the intelligence used in these attacks, which have left at least 21 dead.
Trump confirmed this Sunday that, over the weekend, the US Armed Forces carried out another attack against a ship traveling in the Caribbean.
He also suggested that his country could soon move its anti-drug operations from sea to land.
Last Friday, the Pentagon reported another military attack in the Caribbean against vessels allegedly transporting drugs, marking the 4th operation since early September.
