The US has reported carrying out 14 strikes since September on vessels near the Venezuelan coast and, more recently, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 69 people, according to the U.S. defense secretary, as it escalates a military buildup in the Caribbean Sea.
The US has alleged, without presenting evidence, that the boats it bombed were transporting drugs, but foreign leaders, some members of Congress, legal experts and family members of the deceased have called for proof.
The United Nations human rights chief has called U.S. strikes on alleged drug dealers off the coast of South America “unacceptable” and a violation of international human rights law, and Venezuela says they are illegal, amount to murder and are aggression against the sovereign South American country.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused Donald Trump of seeking regime change, an allegation the U.S. president has downplayed, despite reports of the administration’s close contact with Venezuela’s opposition.
In September, the U.S. built up its military presence in the Caribbean – including a nuclear submarine and a group of warships accompanying the world’s largest aircraft carrier – prompting Maduro to shore up security powers, opens new tab and deploy tens of thousands of troops around the country.
The U.S. has described some of the victims of the strikes as Venezuelans, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said others were his countrymen. Family members of a Trinidadian man believed killed in a strike have demanded proof he was a drug trafficker.
LND/SAE
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