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08-12-2025
WASHINGTON: Since early September, the United States has carried out at least 22 declared military strikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking vessels off the coast of Latin America.
Legal experts and international officials say that the attacks, which have killed at least 86 people, are a violation of the law and represent acts of extrajudicial killing but despite what scholars describe as clear-cut illegality, Trump’s lethal campaign has shown few signs of slowing down, and critics see an alarming shift towards the use of military force against criminal activities.
“I was utterly shocked that the United States would do this,” Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview.
“It shows that the Trump administration has no respect for international law or conventions around the use of force.”
The situation points to a trend of impunity for powerful countries. Though there may be a broad consensus that Trump is breaking international law, it is unclear what legal or political mechanisms could halt his bombing campaign.
“Certainly, trying to rein in a superpower like the United States is something very difficult,” Saul said. “This has to stop from within the US itself.”
‘Guardrails have been eroded’
Experts say that oversight could potentially come from a number of sources.
On the domestic front, the US Congress has the ability to pass legislation barring military strikes or cut off funds for the campaign.
Military members involved in the attacks could also refuse to carry out what they see as unlawful orders.
Foreign leaders could limit or pause intelligence cooperation with the US.
Thus far, however, few meaningful restraints have been placed on the Trump administration.
Twice, the US Senate has voted to defeat legislation that would have required the White House to obtain congressional support for its bombing campaign.
In October, the first bill failed by a vote of 51 to 48. In November, the second was voted down by a margin of 51 to 49.
On the international side, there have also been reports that the United Kingdom and Colombia considered whether to stop sharing intelligence from the Caribbean with the US but officials from both countries have downplayed those reports, with Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti calling the situation a “misunderstanding”.
Other mechanisms meant to assess the legality of the Trump administration’s military actions have faced political pressure.
News outlets such as CNN and NBC News reported that US military lawyers known as judge advocates general or JAG officers who questioned the legality of the bombing campaign were sidelined or fired.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has previously said that he does not want military lawyers acting as “roadblocks” to Trump’s policies.
“Military lawyers are only roadblocks if you want to break the law,” said Sarah Harrison, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.
Harrison previously served as an associate general counsel at the Department of Defense, where she advised the military on questions of international law. She said the Trump administration has deliberately weakened institutional norms and legal safeguards meant to prevent the abuse of military power.
“They have established a blueprint to direct the military to commit an unlawful order without resistance,” she said. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
