UN Chief Backs Human Rights Criticism of U.S. Airstrikes in Caribbean

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Secretary-General is backing claims that recent U.S. airstrikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific violate international law.

A spokesman for Antonio Guterres said Friday the Secretary-General supports the position of UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk — who declared the strikes illegal under international human rights law.

Türk’s office noted that none of the individuals on the targeted boats appeared to pose an imminent threat, and that lethal force cannot be justified in such cases.

The High Commissioner urged the United States to halt the attacks, calling them “extrajudicial killings” that must stop immediately.

The comments follow U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s admission that another suspected drug-trafficking boat was recently destroyed — bringing the total to at least eighteen strikes across the region.