UN expert says US drug-boat strikes may be crimes against humanity

NEW YORK (MNTV) — A UN human rights expert has warned that U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels could amount to crimes against humanity, casting serious doubt on the legality of Washington’s expanding use of military force against organised crime.

Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism, said there were reasonable grounds to question whether the strikes comply with international law, and that U.S. forces have killed at least 223 people in attacks on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since Sept. 2, 2025. 

Washington says the targeted vessels were involved in drug trafficking, but Saul argued that suspected trafficking does not constitute an armed attack that would justify military force in self-defence, and that suspects should instead face arrest and judicial proceedings that respect due process.

Saul also voiced concern over reports of covert operations in Mexico, including alleged targeted killings of cartel figures and foreign drone surveillance over Mexican territory. 

Those reports have not been independently verified, and he did not name a responsible country; any foreign military activity inside Mexico without its consent, he said, would raise serious questions of sovereignty.

The concerns come as the Trump administration presses Mexico to intensify its campaign against cartels, with Trump advocating stronger military action and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum repeatedly rejecting unilateral U.S. intervention on Mexican soil.

Saul and other UN experts called for independent investigations into the deaths and for accountability if the strikes are found unlawful, placing the human cost of Washington’s counter-drug strategy at the centre of a debate over the limits of military power.

Saul is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, and his views do not necessarily reflect the official position of the United Nations.