(Washington, DC) – A United States military strike on September 2, 2025, killed 11 people who were traveling on a boat in international waters in the Caribbean. President Donald Trump announced the attack on social media and claimed that the people on the boat were transporting drugs. The Trump administration indicated this strike was the beginning of a larger campaign targeting drug trafficking organizations.
The following quote can be attributed to Sarah Yager, Washington director:
“Not only has the Trump administration not advanced any kind of legal justification for this strike, but it has described it in terms that would make it an unlawful extrajudicial killing. This is a dangerous precedent, and the administration should abandon any intentions of unleashing a wave of unlawful targeted killings against suspected drug traffickers. The United States cannot simply use lethal force on anyone it wishes. Criminal suspects should be prosecuted in a court of law, not executed at sea.”
