Posted on 09/03/2025 2:23:36 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
A strike carried out by US forces on a boat in the Caribbean Sea - which the White House says killed 11 drug traffickers - may have violated international human rights and maritime law, legal experts have told BBC Verify.
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that US forces destroyed a vessel which he said had departed from Venezuela. He said the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua cartel and was carrying drugs bound for the US.
US defence officials have so far declined to offer details on the strike, footage of which Trump shared on Truth Social, including what legal authority they relied upon to justify it.
BBC Verify reached out to a range of experts in international and maritime law, with several saying that US may have acted illegally in attacking the vessel.
The US is not a signatory to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but the US military's legal advisors have previously said that the US should "act in a manner consistent with its provisions".
Under the convention, countries agree not to interfere with vessels operating in international waters. There are limited exceptions to this which allow a state to seize a ship, such as a "hot pursuit" where a vessel is chased from a country's waters into the high seas.
"Force can be used to stop a boat but generally this should be non-lethal measures," Prof Luke Moffett of Queens University Belfast said.
But he added that the use of aggressive tactics must be "reasonable and necessary in self-defence where there is immediate threat of serious injury or loss of life to enforcement officials", noting that the US moves were likely "unlawful..."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Eff the BBC. The world is way past “legal” anymore.
Odyssey re-enactors snuffed...
And that's the end of that!
Who givesashit if it was legal?
Is the BBC legal?
We don't know, and we don't care.
A man who saves the country breaks no law
“was it legal”??? LOL!! Hmmmm...yes I’m sure that the Narcos were just expediting a delivery of badly needed medication to a desperate coastal hospital ward.
Was it legal? Hah ha, I am sure that the dead are going to care. One thing for sure, the next boats are going to be on the lookout.
Looks to me that pirates, slave ships, gun and drug smugglers, terrorist boats, rouge regimes war boats, boats carrying dangerous cargo, etc. are untouchable, provided they operate in international waters?!
It seems to me, that even war sea battles are illegal if fought in international waters?
There could be cartel attempts aimed at DJT or family members. I suppose any Congress critter would make the point that they have great reach.
The attack self-identified as legal - case closed.
Why they are really pissed is because they blew up the boat, destroyed the drugs, and killed 11 of the countries Federal employees.
So try to arrest us, you ball less Limies.
L
BBC -trash, read no further.
Apparently the BBC needs to brush up on the meaning of “ not a signatory.”
“A man who saves the country breaks no law”
There is nothing else that needs to be said
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