"No, they go against all of our tradition. You know, when you kill someone, if you're not at warnot in a declared waryou really need to know someone's name at least. You have to accuse them of something. You have to present evidence. So all of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name, without any evidence of a crime,"
"And for decades, if not centuries, when you stop people at sea in international waters or in your own waters, you announce that you're going to board the ship and you're looking for contraband, smuggling, or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami, but we know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25% of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship, there are no drugs."
"The other thing about these speedboats is they're 2,000 miles away from us. If they have drugs, they're probably peddling drugs to one of the islands of Trinidad or Tobago off of Venezuela. The idea that they're coming here is a huge assumption, and really, shouldn't you have to present some proof? It is the difference between war and peace. In war, though, you don't ask people's names."
The Trump administration authorized military strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, resulting in more than 20 deaths across six strikes. The strikes were conducted without identifying individual targets or presenting evidence, contrary to traditions requiring identification, accusation, and proof before lethal force outside a declared war. Standard maritime interdiction involves announcing intent to board and searching for contraband; Coast Guard data indicate about 25% of boardings find no drugs. The targeted speedboats were roughly 2,000 miles away and likely bound for nearby islands, making claims they threatened the U.S. speculative and raising legal concerns about use of force.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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