"One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet. And a fourth was a down-on-his-luck bus driver. The men had little in common beyond their Venezuelan seaside hometowns and the fact all four were among the more than 60 people killed since early September when the U.S. military began attacking boats that the Trump administration alleges were smuggling drugs."
"President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials have alleged the craft were being operated by narco-terrorists and cartel members bound with deadly drugs for American communities. The Associated Press learned the identities of four of the men and pieced together details about at least five others who were slain, providing the first detailed account of those who died in the strikes."
"In dozens of interviews in villages on Venezuela's breathtaking northeastern coast, from which some of the boats departed, residents and relatives said the dead men had indeed been running drugs but were not narco-terrorists or leaders of a cartel or gang. Most of the nine men were crewing such craft for the first or second time, making at least $500 per trip, residents and relatives said."
More than 60 people have been killed since early September when the U.S. military began attacking boats alleged to be smuggling drugs. Victims included a fisherman, a criminal, a former military cadet and a bus driver. U.S. officials alleged the vessels were operated by narco-terrorists and cartel members. Identities of several victims were confirmed. Residents and relatives said the men had been transporting drugs but were not narco-terrorists or cartel leaders. Most were crewing smuggling craft for the first or second time and earned at least $500 per trip. The men lived on the Paria Peninsula in modest cinderblock homes with unreliable water and power.
Read at www.npr.org
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