UK stops sharing ‘drug boat’ intelligence with US – media
The UK has stopped sharing intelligence on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean with the US after the Pentagon began conducting lethal strikes on the vessels, CNN and The Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The US has killed at least 76 people in international waters since September as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign against what he says are “narcoterrorists” operating out of Venezuela.
According to CNN, London suspended intelligence-sharing because it believes the strikes are illegal under international law. A UK military source told The Times: “We don’t just target the vessel and kill people. We would arrest them.”
The UK had used intelligence assets stationed on its Caribbean overseas territories to help the US Coast Guard intercept vessels suspected of smuggling drugs, CNN reports.
The UN’s top human rights official, Volker Turk, condemned the strikes as “extrajudicial killing.”
Venezuela and neighboring Colombia have denied that the victims were involved with cartels. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected Trump’s allegations that his government is profiting from the drug trade.
Trump has deployed a naval armada, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, near Venezuela’s coast, hinting that he could authorize strikes on Venezuelan soil. He denies, however, that he is seeking regime change. Maduro has placed the military on alert and vowed to repel any attack.
