(Washington) American strikes against boats suspected of drug trafficking are “lawful” and therefore do not expose the soldiers involved to prosecution, the Department of Justice assured Wednesday, rejecting accusations of “extrajudicial” executions.
Since September, the United States has launched a series of strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific against boats it accuses of transporting drugs, killing a total of 76 people.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged Washington on Monday to investigate the legality of these strikes, finding “strong indications” of “violations of international humanitarian law” and extrajudicial “executions”.
“The strikes were ordered in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and therefore constitute lawful orders,” a Justice Department spokeswoman told AFP.
“The military has a legal obligation to obey lawful orders and is therefore not subject to prosecution for having obeyed lawful orders,” she added, when asked about an article in the Washington Post noting a memorandum from the department on the legal risks incurred by these soldiers.
In a classified opinion of nearly 50 pages written in July, the Department of Justice concluded that the soldiers involved in such strikes could not be subject to prosecution, reports the daily.
It was developed following concerns raised by several senior officers, including Admiral Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Forces South and Central America, according to the Washington Postciting sources close to the matter on condition of anonymity.
Admiral Holsey, responsible for overseeing these strikes, announced in October his upcoming retirement from the navy, after only one year in office.
Such operations “should not raise questions of war, conflict or international humanitarian law,” Volker Türk declared Monday in an interview with AFP.
These actions should actually be considered “law enforcement operations,” he said, emphasizing that in such cases “the use of lethal force must be extremely limited.”
An American aircraft carrier arrived off the coast of Latin America on Tuesday, marking a considerable increase in the military resources mobilized by Washington in the region and accentuating tensions with Venezuela, which announced a “massive” deployment in response.
According to a notice sent by the Pentagon to Congress, the United States is waging an “armed conflict” against Latin American drug cartels, designated as terrorist groups and whose suspected members are described as “illegal combatants”.
