American Defense
Saif
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Date of Event:
Jan 3, 2026
Is the Trump administration committing war crimes in Venezuela?
The US Navy’s Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group sails towards the Caribbean Sea, escorted by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and a US Air Force B-52 , in the Atlantic Ocean on November 13, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERSSince September last year, the Trump administration has taken a hard line against Venezuela's Maduro government. Without any provocation, US fighter jets have been regularly firing missiles at fishing boats suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing around 100 people in several dozens of strikes, according to the BBC. In none of these cases has the administration provided any evidence of alleged drug trafficking by Venezuelans.
One particular incident that has aroused international attention happened on September 2, when the US military targeted a boat in the Caribbean. The first strike killed nine individuals on the ship, and a second follow-on attack killed two survivors. Videos show the two survivors clinging to a capsized lifeboat and waving their arms to the airmen flying overhead. The only rational interpretation of the action of these unarmed sailors was that they were calling for help or trying to wave off another strike.
The shock and outrage generated by this news, first reported by The New York Times, has reverberated throughout the globe. One needs to ask if the US military committed war crimes by killing innocent and helpless fishermen. The US Congress and the international community need to investigate and answer why powerful nations can get away with such violations of human rights law.
A brief history of the conflict between the US and Venezuela is in order. The US has been pushing back against imported drugs and foreign drug cartels for many years. Since Trump took office in January, he has targeted Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro. While the administration has cited its war against drugs as the excuse for this obvious transgression, Trump has not been shy to voice his grudge against the leftist regime in Caracas. Fortune magazine, in its latest issue, went further and said, "Everything the Trump administration is doing in Venezuela involves oil and regime change." In other words, the military actions are not really about drugs but about stealing Venezuela's natural resources.
The September 2 attack on two survivors finally got the US Congress to act and ask some tough questions of the Trump administration. According to the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war against another country. The offensive against the so-called "narco" speedboats is a violation of all international laws and practices. The US Navy is conducting an operation that best resembles the lawlessness that prevailed in the frontier land in the old US West. US media have aptly described the principles guiding the US policy as "might is right" and "shoot first, ask questions later."
From the outset, it was clear that the US Defense Department had embraced a "shoot-before-you-ask" policy in its war against drugs, which resulted in hasty or impulsive actions without fully understanding the situation or considering the consequences. This mentality originates from the Wild West, where law enforcement often acted quickly without careful consideration, often leading to potential mistakes or negative outcomes.
The characterisation of the fishing boats as "drug boats" and identifying humans as "narco-terrorists" are beyond existing norms of international legal principles, and are not a substitute for a lawful process. Michael Kimmage, professor of history at The Catholic University of America, wrote in Foreign Affairs, "Trump's strategy traces multiple contradictions. It celebrates an economic statecraft conducted (if necessary) through military means in the Western Hemisphere … and the selective application of military force."
Also, the second strike against the two survivors, called "double tap," has been unanimously condemned by the media and politicians. Some Democrats and legal experts have argued that a strike to kill shipwrecked survivors could constitute a war crime.
The rules of war, formally known as International Humanitarian Law (IHL), protect persons who are not, or are no longer, directly or actively participating in hostilities, and impose limits on the means and methods of warfare. As mentioned earlier, the two shipwrecked fishermen were not engaged in any combat, and they should have been rescued by the US naval ships in the vicinity.
The Geneva Conventions say shipwrecked persons must be "respected and protected." The Department of Defense Law of War Manual states that helpless, shipwrecked survivors are not lawful targets, while The Hague regulations forbid orders declaring that no quarter will be given.
In short, "double tap" or shooting to kill survivors are war crime. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the second strike a war crime in an interview with CBS News on December 8.
When pressed by ABC News in the Oval Office with specific questions about accountability and the attack, Trump said, "This is war," although Congress has not authorised war, and the initial strike is still being scrutinised.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the US military during Trump's rule has killed innocent civilians at sea and has tried to cover up these murders. The New York Times recently reported that in 2019, during the first Trump administration, the US Navy killed three North Korean fishermen when they were found witnessing a secret American SEAL team off the coast of North Korea.
Jonathan Blitzer offered a scathing critique of current US policy: 'Because the President had labelled several drug cartels "terrorist organisations" in a series of executive orders, the government simply asserted that suspected traffickers were "unlawful combatants" who could be summarily killed.' (The New Yorker, December 7, 2025).
The US government must be held accountable for innocent deaths, and the G7 countries and the UN bodies must voice their concerns without delay. While the State Department justifies the escalation of tension and random attacks against a peaceful Latin American country in the name of preventing drug trafficking, experts point out that the US administration is setting a bad example. Russia, China, and Israel now have a roadmap to attack their neighbours and cover up their territorial ambitions with one pretext or the other.
Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist working at a non-profit fiscal intermediary. He previously worked for the World Bank and Harvard University.
