US military strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on October 27, 2025. Photo: X/Pete Hegseth.
The US mainstream media outlet NBC News reported that the US Southern Command’s “chief military lawyer” had expressed his “legal concern” regarding the Trump administration’s lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea.
The chief military lawyer for the US military command overseeing lethal strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Caribbean waters near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump administration’s position that the operations are legal, and his views were sidelined, according to six sources familiar with the matter, the news report states.
The lawyer, who serves as the principal judge advocate general, or JAG in US military parlance, at the US Southern Command in Miami, raised his legal concerns in August, before the attacks began in September, according to two senior US officials, two senior congressional advisers, and two former senior US officials who spoke to NBC.
His opinion was ultimately dismissed by senior government officials, including those in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, said the six sources.
Extrajudicial killings
The NBC article added, “Other JAGs and military lawyers at various levels of seniority weighed in on the boat strikes, as well. It’s unclear what each of their opinions were, but some of the military lawyers, including civilians and those in uniform, also expressed concerns to senior officials in their commands and at the Defense Department about the legality of the strikes, the two senior congressional aides and one of the senior former US officials said.”
The JAG of the Southern Command is responsible for providing legal advice on military matters, interpreting international law, laws related to armed conflicts, and issuing legal opinions.
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In the case of attacks on vessels, the JAG specifically expressed concern that attacks against individuals on ships in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean—whom US administration officials brand “narcoterrorists”—could constitute extrajudicial executions, and therefore legally expose service members involved in the operations.
The opinion of the chief legal advisor to the command in charge of a military operation is often crucial in determining whether it proceeds or not. Although senior commanders can overrule such advisors, it is rare for operations to proceed without taking their recommendations into account, the NBC report says.
Pentagon denies illegality
However, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, declared: “The War Department categorically denies that any Pentagon lawyers, including SOUTHCOM lawyers, with knowledge of these operations have raised concerns to any attorneys in the chain of command regarding the legality of the strikes conducted thus far because they are aware we are on firm legal ground. Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in complete compliance with the law of armed conflict.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
