UN Chief Backs Human Rights Criticism Of U.S. Airstrikes In Caribbean

UNITED STATES – The United Nations Secretary-General is backing concerns that recent United States airstrikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific violate international law.

A spokesman for Antonio Guterres confirmed Friday that he supports the position of UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, who declared the strikes illegal under international human rights law. Turk’s office noted that individuals on the targeted boats did not appear to pose an imminent threat and said lethal force cannot be justified in those circumstances.

Turk urged the United States to halt the attacks, calling them “extrajudicial killings” that must end immediately.

The criticism comes shortly after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth admitted that another suspected drug trafficking vessel was destroyed, bringing the total to at least eighteen strikes carried out across the region since September.