Why UN considers U.S. attacks in Caribbean violation of international law?

Pars Today – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that U.S. attacks in the Caribbean violate international law.

According to Pars Today, Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described the U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean as unacceptable and in violation of international human rights law.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has carried out several attacks on boats claimed to be carrying drugs, believing that these vessels departed from Venezuela.

Volker Turk said on Friday: “According to reports, more than 60 people have been killed since early September 2025 as a result of a series of attacks by U.S. armed forces on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. This action has no justification under international law. These attacks and the increasing human cost are unacceptable. The United States must halt such attacks and take necessary measures to prevent the extrajudicial killing of boat passengers.”

According to the UN official, under international human rights law, the deliberate use of lethal force is only permitted as a last resort and against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life. However, U.S. officials have acknowledged that none of the passengers on the targeted boats posed an imminent threat to life or took any action that would justify the use of lethal force under international law.

The United States has continuously fueled tensions with Venezuela through the extensive deployment of U.S. naval and air units in the Caribbean. Over the past two months, the Pentagon has stationed a range of warships, fighter jets, Marines, drones, and reconnaissance aircraft in the Caribbean. B-52 strategic bombers have conducted “bomber attack exercises” near Venezuela’s coasts.

Additionally, given the rising tensions between Washington and Caracas, Trump has authorized CIA operations in Venezuela. Last week, the Pentagon announced that the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, along with its air wing, has been deployed to the Caribbean region.

In recent weeks, a series of U.S. military attacks have resulted in the sinking of vessels that the White House claimed were carrying drugs from Venezuela. When Trump was asked whether these attacks might target mainland Venezuela in the future, he replied: “I don’t want to tell you exactly.”

According to Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, Trump, under the claim of a “war on drugs,” has confronted this South American country with “the greatest continental threat in a century” and has recently hinted at the possibility of a ground invasion of Venezuela. The United States has linked the “Los Soles” (Sun) drug cartel to Nicolás Maduro and has increased the reward for information leading to his capture from $25 million to $50 million.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however, denied reports on Friday about planning an attack on Venezuela, saying: “No, that’s not true.”

But Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, considering Trump’s history of deception and broken promises, has reached the opposite conclusion. Maduro said that Trump’s denial about an attack has strengthened the belief among Venezuelans that the United States is planning actions against Venezuela. “Everything being done against Venezuela is aimed at justifying war, regime change, and the plundering of our oil wealth,” he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also responded on Friday to a report claiming that the Trump administration had decided to attack Venezuelan military facilities. Rubio wrote on X: “Your sources, who claim to be informed, have deceived you into writing a fake story.”

This reaction came in response to a report by the Miami Herald, which claimed that attacks could begin “at any moment,” even as the United States has taken a more aggressive stance toward Venezuela.

In addition to the Miami Herald, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Trump administration has identified Venezuelan military facilities used for drug trafficking as potential targets for attacks. The outlet added that Trump has not yet made a final decision to carry out the attacks.

It appears that despite denials from U.S. officials, Trump is determined to attack Venezuela under the pretext of combating drug trafficking to the United States. The prelude to this action has been repeated attacks on boats that, according to the United Nations, posed no imminent threat to life nor took any action that would justify the use of lethal force under international law.