WASHINGTON, D.C. – Wednesday marks the anniversary of the US military campaign launching strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. The strikes have killed more than two-hundred people. Many have raised concerns over the legality of the strikes.
Since the start of this campaign, we’ve counted nearly 70 strikes against boats mostly in the Caribbean but also in the Eastern Pacific, too. The Pentagon recently said that these counternarcotics operations have driven record reductions in illicit maritime activity.
However, according to the Washington Post, an assessment from the Drug Enforcement Administration said the strikes have failed to curb cocaine from entering into the US.
Over the past year, members have raised concerns over the legality of these strikes but we’re told the Trump Administration has been relying on an Office of Legal Counsel memo to provide legal justification for these strikes.
“I have basic human rights concerns,” said Pablo Jose Hernandez, Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner. “I have concerns about due process and adequate use of government resources. We all want to end drug trafficking in the Caribbean but we want to make sure it’s done correctly.”
Hernandez encourages the Administration to find common ground in solving this drug trafficking problem. A senior military leader testified in Congress months ago that these strikes are one tools they can use, but they said it is probably not the most effective tool to end this problem.
