Second Strike? All of the US Strikes in the Caribbean Are Illegal, Legal Experts Say
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001
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The article discusses the legality of US military strikes and Congressional authorization. The 2001 AUMF is the primary legal framework presidents have used to justify military action abroad, and understanding its scope and limitations is essential context for evaluating claims about the legality of these Caribbean strikes.
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United States involvement in regime change in Latin America
12 min read
Provides historical context for US military interventions in the Caribbean and Latin American region. Understanding the long history of American use of force in this area helps contextualize why these strikes represent an 'unprecedented departure' from previous policy.
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Extrajudicial killing
15 min read
The article references international human rights law and the killing of individuals without trial or due process. This topic explains the legal frameworks and precedents around state-sanctioned killings outside judicial proceedings, directly relevant to the legal experts' condemnation mentioned in the article.
More than 80 people have been killed in the Trump administration’s strikes on supposed drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean since September, marking a brazen and unprecedented departure from previous American use of force.
While Congress has been focused on the double-tap strike in which the United States killed two shipwrecked men who survived a first strike, experts and advocacy groups agree that all of the strikes are illegal under both US law and international human rights law.
“I’ve never seen as much unanimity among international law experts in opposition to US policy as I’ve seen to this,” Geoffrey Corn, professor of law at Texas Tech University School of Law, tells Zeteo, describing a “crescendo of condemnation.”
So, how is Trump trying to justify the strikes? What do US and international human rights laws say? And how are the strikes different from drone strikes conducted by previous administrations?
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