US Navy Orders Mass Killings in War on Drugs Without Congressional Approval - By Kenneth Roth.
In a disturbing trend of disregard for human life, the US Navy has carried out numerous killings at sea targeting suspected drug traffickers off the coast of Venezuela and Colombia. At first, these actions were largely overlooked by Congress. However, when a video surfaced showing two survivors of an attack being killed in cold blood, Democrats are finally starting to speak out against this egregious abuse of power.
Under President Trump's order, the US military has killed 87 people in 22 attacks on boats carrying suspected cocaine traffickers. The Pentagon claims that these individuals posed a threat to national security, but most were simply trying to survive after their boat was attacked by US forces. In one case, the US Navy initially killed nine occupants of a boat before returning to kill two men clinging to the remains of the destroyed vessel.
The reason for this lack of oversight lies in President Trump's assertion that there is an "armed conflict" with these cartels, despite no sustained hostilities between organized armed forces. In reality, there can be no war crime if there is no war, but murder is still a very real possibility. The US Coast Guard can interdict boats carrying suspected traffickers and arrest them for prosecution without lethal force.
The administration's justification for the killings relies on a secret Department of Justice memo that has been withheld from public view. It is imperative that Congress takes action to address this blatant disregard for human life and due process.
What's most alarming, however, is the precedent set by these actions. If President Trump can unilaterally declare an "armed conflict" with suspected drug runners and have them summarily executed without trial, the potential consequences are catastrophic. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping could also use this tactic to assassinate their own dissidents.
The stakes go beyond just the lives of suspected traffickers; they represent a fundamental threat to human rights and the rule of law. If Congress fails to act, it will be too late for many more innocent lives.
In a disturbing trend of disregard for human life, the US Navy has carried out numerous killings at sea targeting suspected drug traffickers off the coast of Venezuela and Colombia. At first, these actions were largely overlooked by Congress. However, when a video surfaced showing two survivors of an attack being killed in cold blood, Democrats are finally starting to speak out against this egregious abuse of power.
Under President Trump's order, the US military has killed 87 people in 22 attacks on boats carrying suspected cocaine traffickers. The Pentagon claims that these individuals posed a threat to national security, but most were simply trying to survive after their boat was attacked by US forces. In one case, the US Navy initially killed nine occupants of a boat before returning to kill two men clinging to the remains of the destroyed vessel.
The reason for this lack of oversight lies in President Trump's assertion that there is an "armed conflict" with these cartels, despite no sustained hostilities between organized armed forces. In reality, there can be no war crime if there is no war, but murder is still a very real possibility. The US Coast Guard can interdict boats carrying suspected traffickers and arrest them for prosecution without lethal force.
The administration's justification for the killings relies on a secret Department of Justice memo that has been withheld from public view. It is imperative that Congress takes action to address this blatant disregard for human life and due process.
What's most alarming, however, is the precedent set by these actions. If President Trump can unilaterally declare an "armed conflict" with suspected drug runners and have them summarily executed without trial, the potential consequences are catastrophic. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping could also use this tactic to assassinate their own dissidents.
The stakes go beyond just the lives of suspected traffickers; they represent a fundamental threat to human rights and the rule of law. If Congress fails to act, it will be too late for many more innocent lives.
This is literally insane! The US Navy is basically a vigilante group out there 
killing people without so much as a trial? That's not justice, that's just plain old murder 
. I mean, what's next? Are they gonna start drone strikes on suspected coffee thieves? 
️
The fact that Congress is only now speaking out after a video surfaced shows their priorities are messed up 
. Can't they see the bigger picture here? This sets a horrible precedent for human rights and due process everywhere in the world 
. We need to hold our leaders accountable for this kind of behavior, stat! 
#USNavyCoverUp #WarOnDrugsGoneWrong #HumanRightsMatter
. And what really gets me is how Trump used the "armed conflict" card to justify these killings. It's like, if there was actually some kind of war going on, wouldn't we know about it by now? 
. It's like, what happened to our values as a society when we start turning a blind eye to human lives being lost over a cart full of coke? 
. This is getting way too real, folks 
I think it's essential for Congress to take immediate action and establish clear guidelines for military operations in this area. 
The lack of oversight is unacceptable, and the precedent set by these actions could have far-reaching consequences for human rights and due process around the world. 
The problem is that he's using executive power to basically decide who lives or dies without anyone checking in. It's like a game of cat and mouse, where the cat is the government and the mouse is a poor guy trying to survive.
Like they should have been doing it from the start. And what's with President Trump's "armed conflict" nonsense? Give me a break. It's just a way for him to cover his own tracks and ignore the fact that these people are just trying to survive.
. That's just another example of how out of touch this administration is with reality. They're setting a terrible precedent here, and it could lead to some serious human rights abuses in the future 
. We need Congress to step up and take action before things get any worse 
. The Pentagon claims they were threats to national security but I highly doubt most of those people were even armed 
.
That's just some fancy lawyer speak for "we're gonna kill whoever we want and not have to answer for it". The US Coast Guard is already trained to deal with boat interdictions, no need for the Navy to be playing judge, jury, and executioner too 
. This whole thing reeks of a power grab