A total of 125 organizations made a public call to all States to stop facilitating US extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
The signatories include humanitarian, human rights, peacebuilding, Latin America policy, faith-based, drug policy, and veterans’ organizations. They pointed out that States providing support to the US campaign of extrajudicial murders “risk incurring legal responsibility under international law.”
“Since September 2025, the United States military has killed more than 175 people aboard small vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The identities of most victims remain unknown, and there is no evidence that they posed any imminent threat to individuals or to the United States. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has signaled that these unlawful attacks will continue and in fact escalate, including through land strikes,” the open call released on Thursday, April 23, states.
The document stated that legal experts, civil society, former US government lawyers, and both active and retired US military personnel agree that Washington “is committing extrajudicial killings under international law.”
“The right to life and due process are fundamental principles of international law,” the organizations asserted. “These strikes—conducted outside of armed conflict, without a charge or trial, and against individuals merely accused of engaging in drug trafficking, which does not constitute an imminent threat or armed attack—amount to clear violations of these rights.”
They clarified that third countries that support the US attacks may incur “legal responsibility for aiding or assisting another State in their commission of internationally wrongful acts, including extrajudicial killings and crimes against humanity.”
“Forms of cooperation such as intelligence sharing, access to military bases, and the provision of logistical support may meet the threshold for aiding and assisting where they facilitate the identification, tracking, and targeting of vessels,” the groups noted. “Given the public nature of these strikes and the glaring lack of a lawful justification, States cannot plausibly claim ignorance of the risks associated with their support.”
“All States must immediately cease or refrain from providing any assistance that could contribute to these unlawful killings. Failure to do so facilitates the continuation of this lawless campaign, undermines the rule of law, and risks incurring legal responsibility under international law,” they reiterated.
Under international law, a State can be held responsible if it provides aid or assistance that facilitates the commission of a crime by another State.
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Consequences for the entire region
The groups underscored that the consequences of US extrajudicial killings are being felt in communities throughout the region. “Families awaiting the return of their loved ones may never know what happened to them and have no access to recourse,” they noted.
“Coastal communities have witnessed human remains washing up on shore and fear for their lives when they trade and fish, sowing psychological trauma and undermining livelihoods,” they specified.
The signatory organizations include Action Corps, CODEPINK, Action on Armed Violence, American Civil Liberties Union, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, International Peace Bureau, Center for International Policy, Center for Victims of Torture, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Center for Legal and Social Studies, Colombia Human Rights Committee, StoptheDrugWar.org, The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, amongst others.
(Últimas Noticias) by María Elena Rodríguez
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
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