"United States President Donald Trump's administration has drafted a legal opinion stating that US military personnel involved in military strikes off the coast of Latin America are immune from prosecution, The Washington Post and the Reuters news agency have reported. The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel provided the White House with the opinion on the issue of criminal liability for the strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, the outlets reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter."
"The strikes on alleged drug traffickers have come under intense scrutiny from Democrats, legal experts and even some Republicans since they began in September. The US military has carried out at least 19 strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing at least 76 people. The White House claims the strikes are part of a non-international armed conflict against narcoterrorists and unlawful combatants with ties to Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro."
"The administration of former US President George W Bush coined the term unlawful combatant to deny certain enemies of the US protections under the Geneva Convention. The term, which is not mentioned in the Convention, is controversial in international law and has been rejected by many human rights advocates and legal experts. The Trump administration has not released evidence that the boats were carrying drugs."
The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel provided a legal opinion to the White House concluding that US military personnel involved in strikes off the coast of Latin America are immune from criminal prosecution. At least 19 strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific have been carried out since September, killing at least 76 people. The White House characterizes the operations as part of a non-international armed conflict against narcoterrorists and unlawful combatants linked to Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. The administration has not released evidence that the boats were carrying drugs. The term unlawful combatant originated under George W. Bush and remains controversial internationally. Washington's actions have unsettled some allied governments.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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