Experts say US boat strikes are illegal killings. Can they be stopped?
At least 86 people have been killed in strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats that experts call illegal killings.

At least 86 people have been killed in strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats that experts call illegal killings.

![A demonstration against the Contras, the US intervention in Nicaragua, Central America and Honduras [File: Rick Maiman/Sygma via Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-1039970092-1764842063.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)





![U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a cabinet meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. [Brian Snyder/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-02T190240Z_845962723_RC2I8IAORANV_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP_cropped-1764706004.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

‘Double-tap strikes’ allegedly used on Venezuelan boats accused of trafficking drugs were used extensively under Obama.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is facing questions after authorising a second attack on an alleged drug boat.
The US defence secretary and White House have defended the second strike, but Trump said he would not have wanted it.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez pleads guilty to drug trafficking and to kidnapping an individual believed to be ‘El Mayo’ Zambada.
The deal involves a major change in how the UK values drugs and will apply to all new medicines, not just US ones.
Venezuela slams Trump’s warning that its airspace should be considered closed amid rising tensions.

Adolfo Franco talks about the threat of US military action against Venezuela and what he thinks is the desired outcome.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of four sons of the Sinaloa cartel’s ‘El Chapo’, changes his plea to guilty, documents show.
Venezuela’s decision to revoke permits for carriers is the latest response to escalating tensions with the US.
US president claims attacks on vessels in Latin American region have stopped 85 percent of drugs trafficked by sea.