Shafaq News – New York

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday described US airstrikes on boats suspected of involvement in smuggling operations in the Caribbean as violations of international law.

Guterres expressed his support for the position voiced by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who called the strikes “unacceptable,” urging an investigation into the incidents.

This marks the first condemnation of its kind issued by a UN body.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for Turk’s office, said during a regular UN press briefing that the attacks and their escalating human toll are unacceptable. “The United States must halt these operations and take all necessary measures to prevent extrajudicial killings of individuals on board these vessels,” she stated.

In September 2025, American forces conducted two strikes against what it described as extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists operating in international waters near Venezuela.

Tensions have spiked since August, when Trump deployed naval forces to the Caribbean to counter transnational trafficking. On September 3, he revealed an earlier strike on a separate vessel allegedly transporting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, killing 11.