US strikes on alleged drug boats may be ‘crimes against humanity’, UN says

UN expert says US forces have killed 223 people in 68 attacks in the Caribbean and the Pacific in the past year.A United Nations human rights expert has concluded that US attacks on suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean violate international law and may amount to crimes against humanity.In a report published on Monday, Ben Saul, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, said the US has struck 68 vessels in international waters between September 2025 and August this year, killing at least 223 people.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘Handcuffed and blindfolded’: Is the US targeting Ecuadorian fishermen?list 2 of 4US removes Venezuela from drug list, Trump sayslist 3 of 4Duterte in person at ICC for first time over ‘war on drugs’ killingslist 4 of 4Mexico rescues eight from clandestine clinic run by violent Jalisco cartelend of listThe US has defended the strikes as acts of self-defence against “narco-terrorists”, and President Donald Trump has told Congress that the operations reflect a state of armed conflict with designated “terrorist” organisations.The report, however, rejected that framing.“The United Stat...