The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, declared this Friday that the attacks carried out by the United States against vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, supposedly linked to drug trafficking, violate international human rights law.
According to a release published by his office, Türk asserted that these attacks They are carried out in circumstances that have no justification in international law.
“More than 60 people have reportedly died in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” he emphasized.
The official described these bombings as “unacceptable” and called on Washington to stop them, as well as to take measures to “prevent the extrajudicial execution” of the crew members of those vessels, “regardless of the suspicions that hang over them.”
He recalled that there are limits in the fight against international drug trafficking. “Under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permitted as a last resort against people who pose an imminent threat to life,” he said.
He noted that despite having “little information” from the US authorities, “none of the people who were on the attacked boats seemed to represent an imminent threat to the lives of others.”
Türk called for prompt, independent and transparent investigations into these attacks and urged the Trump administration to comply with international law, including what is stipulated in applicable anti-narcotics treaties to which the US is also a party.
Since last August, Washington made a military deployment in the Caribbean, near the coast of Venezuela, with warships, a submarine, fighter planes and troops, arguing the action as part of the fight against drug trafficking.
In October, the US president admitted having authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out covert operations in Venezuelan territory.
For its part, the Venezuelan Government has denounced that this military deployment represents a threat to the country and the region, emphasizing that the objective is to appropriate the nation’s natural wealth and reserves. The President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, warned last September that the country is the victim of “a multiform war” orchestrated from the United States.
Likewise, the Government of Colombia has rejected the attacks and described these actions as “murders”, urging the US to cease its bombings and respect international law.
