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UN Expert Says US Strikes on Suspected Drug Boats May Be Crimes Against Humanity
A UN report found the United States struck 68 vessels in international waters over the past year, killing at least 223 people, and concluded the killings may meet the legal definition of crimes against humanity.
AI-synthesized from the cited sources below.
A United Nations human rights expert concluded that US military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific violate international law and may amount to crimes against humanity, according to a report published on September 21. Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, found that the United States struck 68 vessels in international waters between September 2025 and August 2026, killing at least 223 people.
The report argues the killings meet the legal definition of murder as a crime against humanity because they were carried out systematically under an organized state policy directed at a large number of victims. Saul called on the United States to investigate the killings, prosecute those responsible, including political and military leaders who ordered the strikes, and provide reparations to victims' families.
The United States has defended the strikes as acts of self-defense against narco-terrorist organizations. President Trump has told Congress that the operations reflect a state of armed conflict with designated terrorist groups, though the Pentagon has disclosed little evidence tying those killed to drug trafficking.
Key facts
- The UN report was published on September 21, 2026, by Special Rapporteur Ben Saul.
- The US struck 68 suspected drug-trafficking vessels in international waters between September 2025 and August 2026.
- At least 223 people were killed in the strikes, according to the report.
- The report says the killings may constitute crimes against humanity under international law.
- It calls for the US to investigate, prosecute those responsible, and provide reparations to victims' families.
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