New reporting that US forces used an aircraft painted to appear civilian for a lethal strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea on September 2, 2025—killing 11 people—raises new questions about the erosion of internal safeguards on US military operations. Officials interviewed by the Times said they were told the plane flew low enough for the people on the boat to see it before the attack. When combined with the follow-up strike on survivors of the initial attack—also prohibited under the legal regime the administration claims to be applying—the new allegations add to the impression already created by the larger campaign of unlawful boat strikes that there has been a real breakdown in command safeguards to prevent unlawful attacks.
Author: Human Rights Watch
Published at: 2026-01-13 22:15:14
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