3 h. ago US strikes two more alleged drug boats, bringing death toll to over 100

US military declares five alleged drug traffickers killed in Pacific OceanThe US military said it killed on Thursday five more alleged drug traffickers aboard two vessels in the Pacific Ocean, bringing the divisive campaign’s death toll to over 100.The Trump administration has carried out such strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September but has provided no evidence that the boats are involved in drug trafficking, prompting debate about the operations’ legality. Continue reading...

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5 h. ago US military says 2 strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5 in eastern Pacific

The U.S. military says that it conducted two more strikes Thursday against boats it said were smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people

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23 h. ago Trump latest: US military kills four in strike on another alleged drug boat after president attacks Biden in TV address

Latest deadly strike in eastern Pacific announced as President Donald Trump continues to blame predecessor Joe Biden for the state of the U.S. economy after almost a year in power

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27 h. ago US strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific kills four, as Trump accuses Venezuela of taking ‘our oil’

The announcement from Pete Hegseth comes a day after Trump issued a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving VenezuelaThe US military carried out a lethal strike on a vessel it said was engaged in drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific, according to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, as Trump further ratcheted up pressure on Venezuela, accusing the country of taking US oil.On Wednesday Hegseth said the “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel engaged in “narco-trafficking operations” had killed four people. The latest strike in the Pacific brings the death toll to 99 since the US began its campaign of striking alleged drug-trafficking boats in September. Continue reading...

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29 h. ago US military strikes another alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4

This occurred the same day the House rejected efforts to limit Trump’s power to use military force against cartels

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30 h. ago US military says strike on alleged drug boat kills 4 in eastern Pacific

The U.S. military says it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people

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42 h. ago ‘Not a single piece of intelligence’: AOC reacts angrily to boat strike briefings

Progressive Congresswoman said the briefing about the strikes on the alleged drug boats near Venezuela was ‘not a serious intelligence briefing’

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6 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Venezuela: a return to seeking regime change | Editorial

The US is ramping up the pressure on Nicolás Maduro with a tanker seizure and expanded sanctions following threats and boat strikesEarly in his first term, Donald Trump mooted a “military option” for Venezuela to dislodge its president, Nicolás Maduro. Reports suggest that he eagerly discussed the prospect of an invasion behind closed doors. Advisers eventually talked him down. Instead, the US pursued a “maximum pressure” strategy of sanctions and threats.But Mr Maduro is still in place. And Mr Trump’s attempts to remove him are ramping up again. The US has amassed its largest military presence in the Caribbean since the 1989 invasion of Panama. It has carried out more than 20 shocking strikes on alleged drug boats. Mr Trump reportedly delivered an ultimatum late last month, telling the Venezuelan leader that he could have safe passage from his country if he left immediately. There was already a $50m bounty on his head. This week came expanded sanctions and the seizure of a tanker.D...

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6 d. ago Shrinking economy takes toll on FTSE 100 amid ‘unsurprising surprise’

The index dipped after a promising start amid poor growth figures and US tech concerns.

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6 d. ago Admiral hands over leadership of command overseeing the Trump administration's boat strikes

A U.S. Navy admiral who oversees military operations in Latin America has handed off command responsibilities as scrutiny increases over the Trump administration’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats in the region

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1 week ago Democrats urge Pentagon to release video of strike on alleged drug boat

Trump team faces mounting pressure as members of Congress allege that the deadly attack was unlawfulUS Democrats on Sunday pushed the Trump administration to release video of a second strike on an alleged drug boat incapacitated in the Caribbean, continuing to escalate pressure on the Pentagon amid accusations the attack was unlawful.Eleven people died in the 2 September attack, including two men killed in a follow-up strike as they reportedly clung to wreckage for an hour. That killing has been met with intense scrutiny and accusations of war crimes after the Washington Post reported defense secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill them all”. Adm Frank Bradley of the US navy, who oversaw the attack, told lawmakers on Thursday there was no such order – and the Pentagon has defended the legality of the attack. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Admiral tells lawmakers that all 11 people on alleged drug boat hit by double

The double-tap strike against the alleged drug vessel has been at the center of a growing controversy

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1 week ago Hegseth gives defiant speech defending ‘drug boat’ strikes amid scrutiny

At event in California, US defense secretary says Trump has power to take military action ‘as he sees fit’Pete Hegseth on Saturday doubled down on his defense of US military strikes on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean, arguing that Donald Trump has the power to take military action “as he sees fit” and dismissing concerns that the strikes violate international law.Hegseth spoke on Saturday at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California, amid growing scrutiny over the legality of the attacks and his leadership of the Pentagon. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Astonishing new claim that survivors of Pete Hegseth's 'war crime' boat strike were 'waving before second attack'

Pete Hegseth is under intense scrutiny over the September 2 attack after at least two people on the vessel allegedly filled with drug dealers were still alive after the first strike.

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1 week ago Four killed in latest ‘drug boat’ strike as Hegseth faces war crimes accusations

The US military conducted another deadly strike on an alleged drug boat, killing four men on board.

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2 w. ago Hegseth orders new strike that kills 4 on alleged drug boat amid ‘double tap’ controversy

Attack comes just hours after Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley briefed concerned lawmakers about the September ‘double tap’ strike

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2 w. ago Hegseth orders new strike that kills four on alleged drug boat amid ‘double tap’ controversy

The attack comes just hours after Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley briefed concerned lawmakers about the September ‘double tap’ strike

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2 w. ago US admiral defends second strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean

Briefing to lawmakers over September 2 mission comes as Trump and Hegseth seek to distance themselves

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2 w. ago US lawmakers call for inquiry into second US military strike on alleged Caribbean drug boat

Democratic representative Jim Himes, who saw footage of attack, called it ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public serviceAnalysis: Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shakyA Democratic congressman described an unedited video of an extrajudicial military strike that killed two survivors in the Caribbean as “one of the most troubling scenes” he’s seen in public service, as human rights advocates and policy experts are lining up to demand the video’s public release.Congressman Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House intelligence committee, made the remarks on Thursday after viewing footage in a classified briefing of the 2 September follow-up attack that killed two men clinging to wreckage off the coast of Venezuela. His assessment came as experts called the operation murder under international law. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shaky

Pentagon’s Law of War manual clearly prohibits attack, but justification for whole campaign also faces tough questionsGraphic depictions of two survivors being killed by a second US military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug ferrying boat have provoked outrage where previously there was none – or at least relatively little.A firestorm of controversy has greeted a recent Washington Post report which suggested that a deadly attack on a vessel carrying 11 people in the Caribbean was followed with a second assault after the initial strike failed to kill everybody onboard. Continue reading...

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