The NGO emphasizes that Washington “cannot summarily execute people it accuses of drug trafficking.”
The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced this Thursday that the bombings carried out by the United States against two vessels allegedly used by drug traffickers in Venezuelan waters constitute extrajudicial executions and warned of the White House’s attempts to expand its authority in such operations, something that could lead to further human rights violations.
“US officials cannot summarily execute people they accuse of drug trafficking,” said Sarah Yager, HRW’s Washington director. “The problem of narcotics entering the United States is not an armed conflict, and US officials cannot ignore their human rights obligations by pretending otherwise,” she added.
US President Donald Trump announced on September 2 that a bombing in international waters targeting a small boat leaving Venezuela had killed eleven people. He accused them of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, designated by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization.
He subsequently released aerial footage of the explosion, a video that has allowed HRW to confirm that there were at least six people on board the boat, although the location and time of the attack remain unverified.
On September 15, Trump announced a second attack on another boat also leaving Venezuela, also in international waters, and claimed that three people had died. HRW indicated that footage of the attack shows two people on the boat before the explosion, although their location and time of the attack have not been verified.
The US president posted a message on his Truth Social account warning of the possibility of further attacks. “Be warned. If you are transporting drugs that can kill Americans, we will hunt you down,” he said.
HRW has insisted that the use of lethal force against suspected drug traffickers in these bombings violates international human rights law and has recalled that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Washington has ratified, protects the right to life.
Furthermore, it has argued that international human rights law standards stipulate that authorities must seek to minimize harm and preserve life in their operations, and may use lethal force only when unavoidable to protect themselves from an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
Therefore, it has emphasized that US authorities did not take these steps in these bombings, including refusing to attempt to arrest the suspects, and added that Washington’s own description of the events implies that these were extrajudicial executions.
The organization also noted that the attacks “took place amid the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle internal oversight mechanisms within the military” and maintained that “key protections to ensure compliance with international law have been stripped away.”
Yager noted that “the US military should immediately halt any plans for future unlawful bombings and ensure that all military operations comply with international human rights and humanitarian law.” “Congress should open a prompt and transparent investigation into the decision-making processes behind these attacks, including the legal reasoning and chain of command,” he concluded.
