U.S. Civil Rights organizations demand legal justification for the Trump administration’s “South Spear” operations in the Caribbean, linked to 87 deaths and regional tensions.
Civil rights organizations in the United States filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday, December 9, demanding the Trump administration disclose the secret legal memo used to justify a series of deadly military strikes in the Caribbean Sea, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 87 people since September 2025 under the alleged banner of combating “narco-terrorism.”
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The legal action was initiated by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and its New York branch (NYCLU) in the Southern District Court of New York, following the executive branch’s refusal to respond to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The groups seek to force the release of an opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) that reportedly “apparently blesses the current attacks as legal acts in a supposed ‘armed conflict’ with unspecified ‘drug cartels’.”
Escalating Operations and Regional Tension
Since September 2, the Trump administration has conducted at least 22 attacks against vessels in international Caribbean waters, justifying these actions under the premise of combating drug terrorism.
These operations are part of a military deployment known as Operation “Southern Lance”, a military deployment that has increased U.S. forces near Venezuela’s maritime border, creating significant diplomatic tension between the two nations.
The U.S. administration has refused to publicly release the OLC memo, though it granted restricted access to some Congressional members in November. “To claim they are legal without providing evidence shows Trump’s disdain for basic transparency, Human Rights, and the rule of law”, stated representatives of the plaintiffs.
The United States government killed around 80 people in the #CaribbeanSea, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, who described it as a massacre. #Venezuela #Thearts pic.twitter.com/AwK4BDPrJU
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 9, 2025
Human Rights Allegations and International Concern
This legal battle coincides with a petition filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by the family of Alejandro Carranza Medina, a Colombian fisherman killed in a September 15th in one of these bombardments. Their lawyer, Dan Kovalik, called the attack an extrajudicial execution and part of a “systematic practice of state terrorism.”
Regional leaders, as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, have energetically condemned the U.S. escalation of aggression, reaffirming South America and the Caribbeamm as a “zone of peace.” For his part, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro classified the U.S. military deployment as an attempt to destabilize Venezuela and plunder its resources.
The family of Alejandro Carranza, a Santa Marta fisherman who was slain in attacks by #Washington in the Caribbean, will be defended by his attorney, Dan Kovalik, according to a statement made by Colombian President Gustavo Petro. This case attempts to bring light to crimes… pic.twitter.com/hnpzdobbTu
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 1, 2025
Furthermore, UN and DEA data indicate Venezuela is not a primary drug trafficking route, casting further doubt on the operation’s stated premise.
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