Flag of the United Nations. Photo: UN News.
A group of experts from the United Nations condemned the extrajudicial killings committed by the United States in the Caribbean under the pretext of waging a “war against narco-terrorism.” US forces launched missiles indiscriminately at vessels and then claimed that these small boats were linked to international drug trafficking.
Through a statement released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday, September 16, the experts condemned the extrajudicial executions by the United States of 11 people when it sank a civilian vessel in the Caribbean Sea on September 2, 2025, and three people on another vessel on September 15, in clear violation of the right to life and other international regulations, as already mentioned by Venezuela.
“International law does not allow governments to simply murder alleged drug traffickers,” the experts said. “Criminal activities should be disrupted, investigated, and prosecuted in accordance with the rule of law, including through international cooperation.”
In this regard, the experts stated, “On 2 September 2025, the president of the United States announced a ‘kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists’ aboard a vessel in international waters, allegedly transporting illegal narcotics to the US, killing 11 people. The Secretary of State of the United States indicated the US could have intercepted the vessel but chose to destroy it to deter traffickers.”
The UN experts clarified that although the US government has alleged that the now defunct Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua is “mounting an invasion or predatory incursion of the US, at the behest of the Venezuelan government, there is no evidence that this group is committing an armed attack against the US that would allow the US to use military force against it in national self-defence.”
They added that “the United States’ attack also violates the international law of the sea, which does not authorize unprovoked attacks on ships, requires criteria to be met to intercept ships, and insists on a law enforcement, not military approach, to using force.”
“Under international law, all countries must respect the right to life, including when acting on the high seas or in foreign territory,” the experts emphasized. “The use of potentially lethal force is only permitted in personal self-defence or defence of others against an imminent threat to life.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro Calls US Attack on Caribbean Vessel ‘Murder’
The US violates international law
Referring to a classified order reportedly signed by the US president in August 2025 authorizing military force in foreign territory or international waters against Latin American drug cartels that the US government recently designated as terrorist organisations, UN experts stated that “international law does not permit the unilateral use of force abroad to fight terrorism or drug trafficking.”
“Attacks on organized crime groups in foreign territory would violate the other country’s sovereignty and could amount to an illegal use of force under the United Nations Charter and customary international law,” they emphasized.
“On 25 July 2025, the US designated Cartel de los Soles [The Cartel of the Suns] as a terrorist group and alleged that the Venezuelan president is its leader, raising the prospect that the US may use military force directly against a foreign government,” the statement pointed out.
“We urge the United States to retreat from its lawless ‘war on narco-terrorism,'” the experts stated. “Under international law, the US must independently investigate those who ordered and carried out these murders, prosecute perpetrators, no matter how senior in government, provide reparation to the victims’ families, and guarantee that such acts will never occur again.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SL
