Was boat attack a war crime? Extrajudicial killings violate international law [View all]

Attack raises serious questions about president’s legal authority for lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers

Alex Woodward in New York
Wednesday 03 September 2025 18:24 EDT

... “There is zero evidence of self-defense here. Looks like a massacre of civilians at sea,” according to Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at research and advocacy group, Washington Office on Latin America. “Even if they had drugs aboard, that’s not a capital offense.”

Lethal force against civilians in international waters “is a war crime if not in self-defense,” according to Isacson. “‘Not yielding to pursuers’ or ‘suspected of carrying drugs’ doesn’t carry a death sentence” ...

Even if one were to accept the administration’s framing of the attack, “this action is legally questionable under both U.S. and international law,” according to Juan S. Gonzalez, a former National Security Council official under Joe Biden.

“As it stands, the administration is claiming authority to sink any vessel it ‘deems’ tied to drug trafficking. That’s a slippery slope,” he said. “Without checks, the U.S. risks killing fishermen, migrants, or other civilians… and we’d just have to take the [administration] at its word” ...

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-venezuela-drug-boat-attack-video-b2819566.html