Screenshots of the February 16 US extrajudicial killings in Latin America and the Caribbean. Photo: X/@southcom
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—US Southern Command carried out three extrajudicial killings on Monday, Feb. 16, targeting small boats in both the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. These latest controversial operations, carried out under the framework of Operation Southern Spear, resulted in the murder of 11 unidentified civilians, bringing the total death toll of the US offensive to 139 since its inception last September.
According to US military reports, two of the strikes occurred in the Eastern Pacific, resulting in four deaths each, while a third attack took place in the Caribbean Sea, claiming the lives of 3 individuals. As has become a hallmark of these maritime operations, the US armed forces reported “no casualties” among their personnel.
Recent flight data and statistics
With these latest incidents, US Southern Command has conducted 41 recorded strikes against civilian vessels in less than six months. According to statistics compiled by Orinoco Tribune, the violence has been distributed across two major regions:
• Eastern Pacific: 28 strikes resulting in 85 deaths, accounting for 61.15% of the total victims.
• Caribbean Sea: 13 strikes resulting in 54 deaths, accounting for 38.85% of the total victims.
Despite the Trump regime’s persistent narrative that these attacks target “narco-terrorist” organizations, the military has yet to produce public evidence of narcotics being recovered from the destroyed vessels. Analysts point out that the high death toll in the Eastern Pacific—where Venezuela has no coastline—further exposes Washington’s use of the “war on drugs” as a pretext for its broader campaign against Venezuela.
New act of piracy in the Indian Ocean
In a parallel escalation of its global imperialist campaign, US naval forces seized a second oil tanker carrying Venezuelan oil in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, Feb. 15. The Panamanian-flagged vessel, the Veronica III, was intercepted by a US warship after a pursuit that reportedly spanned from the Caribbean to the Sunda Strait.
This seizure follows the boarding of the Aquila II last week and marks the ninth ship seized by US forces in international waters since last year. The Pentagon stated that the Veronica III was attempting to “slip away” to deliver Venezuelan heavy crude to international markets, asserting that the move demonstrates US administration’s determination to enforce a total oil blockade.
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International observers and legal experts have slammed the seizure as “outright piracy” and a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. While US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently boasted that Washington has generated over $1 billion from the sale of stolen Venezuelan oil, Caracas maintains that these acts of theft are part of a broader blockade strategy following the Jan. 3 military attacks and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores.
The continued use of lethal force on the high seas and the seizure of commercial tankers highlight a global pattern of US lawlessness, where Washington acts as judge, jury, and executioner in defiance of international law.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
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