The U.S. military's strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats have resulted in the deaths of individuals not involved in narcotrafficking.

Following “a careful review” of classified information he has seen so far, Sen. Tim Kaine told the White House on Monday, that he US military’s strikes on alleged drug boats have likely illegally killed “individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking,” “They are murder victims,” the Virginia Democrat wrote in a letter to Donald Trump. So far, the US military has killed at least 221 people and destroyed at least 67 vessels in the “Operation Southern Spear” campaign, which began last September. The administration has told Congress the US is in an “armed conflict” against drug cartels, labeling those killed “unlawful combatants” -- and claiming the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial review due to a *classified* Justice Department finding https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/03/politics/tim-kaine-boat-strikes-illegal

"Sen. Tim Kaine sounded the alarm about the death toll of dozens of strikes the United States military has launched on alleged drug trafficking boats in the last year. 'A careful review of the available evidence suggests that the United States has killed individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking,' Kaine wrote in a letter to Pres. Donald Trump. 'They are murder victims'.”: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/live-updates_n_6a705787e4b07f03214394c9/liveblog_6a71635fe4b095f522ffeede?origin=home-latest-news-unit #CaribbeanSlaughter #HumanRights copy: @renewedresistance #politics