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Volker Turk voices rare criticism of the US bombing campaign that has killed more than 60 people in less than two months.
Published On 31 Oct 2025
The United Nations human rights chief has called for an investigation into United States military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying illegal drugs from South America, saying the attacks are “unacceptable” and must stop.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) head Volker Turk voiced the first outright condemnation of US strikes from a UN organisation in a statement on Friday.
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“These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable,” Turk said. “The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”
Speaking on Turk’s behalf at a regular UN briefing, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the top UN official believed Washington’s conduct violated international human rights law and called for “prompt, independent, and transparent investigations”.
US President Donald Trump has justified the attacks on the boats as a necessary escalation in the effort to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, but the campaign against drug cartels has been divisive among countries in the region.
His increasingly belligerent approach to Venezuela and Colombia, both led by left-wing governments, suggests possible ulterior motives, perhaps even “regime change” in the former.
The US has recently sent an aircraft carrier strike group to Latin America, in a major escalation of its military presence in the region, prompting speculation of a possible effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
Shamdasani noted the US explanations but said countries have long agreed that the fight against illicit drug trafficking is a law-enforcement matter governed by “careful limits” placed on the use of lethal force.
Intentional use of lethal force is allowed only as a last resort against someone representing “an imminent threat to life,” she said. “Otherwise, it would amount to a violation of the right of life and constitute extrajudicial killings.”
The strikes are taking place “outside the context” of armed conflict or active hostilities, Shamdasani said.
US strikes kill dozens
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced the latest military strike on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. All four people on board were killed.
With Wednesday’s strike – the 14th since the campaign began in early September –the death toll has grown to at least 61.
On Tuesday morning, Hegseth said Washington had carried out three more attacks against boats accused of trafficking illegal narcotics in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor.
The string of attacks on Monday marked the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day. It was also the second time a survivor has been confirmed since the bombing campaign began on September 2.
On October 16, another strike reportedly left two survivors, both of whom were repatriated to their home countries.
The US president has also repeatedly threatened to expand his bombing campaign to overland targets as well, a pledge that has yet to come to fruition.
