Trump kills 11 suspected Venezuelan drug dealers, setting dangerous precedent | Kenneth Roth

tHis U.S. Army kill It is said that 11 are Venezuela The boat trip of drug traffickers in international waters of the Caribbean is an illegal use of war power to resolve what should have been law enforcement. Unless precedents of this dangerous are condemned and restricted, it will enable U.S. authorities to instantly shoot anyone of their choice by simply declaring a “war” against them.

Last month it was Report That Donald Trump A secret decree was signed that authorized the Pentagon to use military power against certain designated Latin American drug cartels and claimed they were “terrorist” groups. Trump on Tuesday Write Under his orders, the military targeted Tren de Aragua, the “Nacotroelists”, accusing them of “operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuelan” and “responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, sexual trafficking, and violence and terrorism throughout the United States and the Western Hemisphere.”

No reports of vessels attempting to prohibit and detain persons. Videotapes from Trump’s statement show that the ship was blown up. When asked why the boat was not stopped and its crew was arrested hide Problems and suggestion The killings will force traffickers to think twice before trying to transfer drugs to the United States.

In international standard For law enforcement, deadly forces can only be used as a final measure to deal with impending death or serious personal injury. The rule makes sense, as law enforcement officers should usually seek to arrest and prosecute suspects. This is the best way to ensure they have committed the relevant crime. This also respects the fact that for most crimes, the sentence of conviction is a prison sentence, not a death sentence—not to mention the imminent killing of unjusted killings.

Trump is trying to escape these standards by declaring a war against Venezuelan drug cartels. start In 1971, along with Richard Nixon, the U.S. president repeatedly mentioned a “war on drugs”, but it was a metaphorical war, a statement that effort is important, not a war head-on. The difference is important because in real armed conflict, opposing combatants able Unless they surrender or are detained, they are shot. There is usually no responsibility to try to capture or arrest them.

There is nothing to indicate war in the encounter in the Caribbean. There is no suggestion that the alleged drug traffickers open fire on the U.S. military or otherwise participate in something that could be called a battle. The U.S. military simply blows them out of the water. It mistakenly applies wartime rules, which should be a case of law enforcement.

Trump said the drug trafficking suspect “terrorists” will not change the law enforcement rules. Terrorists are criminals, not combatants. They have no threat of impending death or serious bodily injury, must Arrested, not shot.

Illegal drugs such as fentanyl can also cause huge harm and will not change the rules regarding law enforcement actions. Many criminal activities can cause serious harm, but unless the harm poses a threat to impending death or serious personal injury and cannot be blocked by other means Require Arrest and prosecute, rather than using deadly force.

It doesn’t matter that the person being killed may be a criminal. Even mean people have the right to arrest and prosecute, rather than simple killing.

If the rules of war are applied to suspicious terrorists or drug traffickers only by declaring “war”, the risk will be enormous. Law enforcement officers can shoot anyone anywhere they only prove in court, and they are part of the declaration of “war.” What happened on the Caribbean Sea can be copied on the streets of New York, London or Paris.

By far, the most obvious example of a leader who sees the “war on drugs” as a real armed conflict is former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Under his guidance, Philippine security forces publicly killed Thousands of Poor young man. International Criminal Court charged He is now in custody in The Hague for these executions wait Judgment.

South Carolina Senator and Foreign Policy Leader Lindsey Graham meets 11 kills Bravado: “I hope the opponents in the United States are watching and now know that there is a new sheriff in the town.” But even new sheriffs must comply with policing rules. Trump does not.

We have good reason to worry that the Trump administration intends to continue this inability. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, warn Such an operation “will happen again”.

To avoid such normalization of law enforcement rules, it is necessary to criticize the Trump administration’s killing of so-called drug traffickers. If we close this misuse of the rules of war because we don’t like Venezuelan drug cartels or fear illegal drugs, we may set a precedent in which our most basic right to life suddenly depends on whether Trump or other leaders decide to declare a war against us.

• Kenneth Roth is a former executive director of the former Human Rights Watch (1993-2022) and a visiting professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. His book, Corrected Errors: Thirty Years on the Frontline of Fighting Abuse Government, was published Nopf and Allen Lane In February.