US air strikes kill 14 people in three attacks on boats in Eastern Pacific - As-salāmu ʿalaykum
As-salāmu ʿalaykum - The US says it carried out three more air strikes on boats accused of smuggling illegal drugs in the Eastern Pacific, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor.
According to a US defence statement, the three strikes happened on Monday and a video circulated showed a missile hitting two boats side by side and setting them on fire. The first attack reportedly struck two vessels with eight men aboard, a second hit a small boat carrying four men, and a third struck another boat with three people. Mexican authorities were said to be leading search-and-rescue efforts, though it wasn’t clear which incident produced the lone survivor. No victims have been publicly identified, and no clear evidence has been released to prove the boats were trafficking drugs.
These attacks are part of a bombing campaign that began in early September. Monday’s strikes raise the known death toll to 57, with at least 13 air strikes and 14 maritime vessels targeted over the past two months. The pace of strikes has increased recently: three in September and ten more announced this month, including six in the last week alone.
The US administration has argued these measures are needed to stop illicit drugs reaching US soil. Critics, including human rights groups and international experts, say the missile strikes may violate international law and amount to extrajudicial killings, since countries are generally barred from using lethal force against non-combatants outside an armed conflict. The UN’s assistant secretary-general for the Americas has urged that efforts to counter transnational organised crime be carried out in line with international law.
The US government has increasingly described Latin American drug cartels as akin to terrorist groups, and a presidential memo treating traffickers as “unlawful combatants” in a “non-international armed conflict” has drawn legal criticism. Many legal experts argue drug trafficking is a criminal matter, not an act of war.
There are also domestic legal questions in the US about presidential authority to carry out these strikes without explicit congressional approval. The War Powers Resolution and the Constitution assign war-declaring powers to Congress, and some lawmakers from both parties have spoken out against the strikes or sought to require congressional authorisation. Critics point to a lack of clear legal justification and to public statements that suggest the administration believes it can use force without asking Congress.
The strikes have come alongside a military build-up in the region, with a US carrier group and supporting ships deployed near South America. Some US politicians, including members of both parties, have expressed concern about the legality and wisdom of the campaign.
This is an ongoing story and details remain limited. May Allah grant guidance and protection to all innocent people affected by conflict and violence.
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