On Feb. 13, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed. @DeptofWar #OpSouthernSpear

This publication understands that police in St Vincent made a major drug haul on Monday. The haul comes three days after a U.S. military strike in the region and an unconfirmed second strike on a fishing vessel off Northern St Vincent, last week.Reports to the St Vincent Times indicate that some 9kilos of cocaine were seized. The exact location of the haul has not been made public yet by local authorities. However, it is understood that a raid was carried out in Lowman’s Bay on Monday. Whether the drug find was in connection to the raid has not been stated officially. The St Vincent Times understands that there have been several reports of cocaine washing ashore in other Southern Caribbean islands since Saturday evening.Remnants of an alleged drug boat blown up in a lethal strike by the U.S. military last week surfaced off Canouan on Saturday.It was reported by St. Lucian media on Monday, that the U.S. strike took place off Bequia. The question being raised if this is confirmed, is whether the government was notified and, if so, did they grant permission to the U.S.The discovery was made by a group of fishermen from the mainland. They indicated to the publication that no bodies were seen floating in the area. However, a separate find by fishermen off Northern St Vincent revealed debris and body parts.Unconfirmed reports state that the nationalities of those found off Owia are said to be St Lucian.The St Lucia government, through Prime Minister Philip J Peieree, on Monday said the following:“I can confirm that people lost their lives. As to the circumstances, I have known official notification on the circumstances surrounding their deaths.”When pressed for a more detailed answer whether those who were killed were, in fact, from St Lucia, the Prime Minister responded by saying: “I can confirm that people lost their lives. I got no other official notification on anything else.”When asked if there is an investigation, he replied, “The issue will be investigated by the powers responsible for investigations.”Fishermen who made the discovery said the bow of the boat was still visible with the engine and most of the hull submerged.The location of the find raises questions about whether the boat was blown up in international waters or in the territorial waters of St Vincent and St Lucia.The Trump administration has adamantly defended the strikes as necessary to stop illegal drugs from entering the U.S. Since the strikes began in September, at least 37 strikes have killed 120 people, excluding Friday’s strike, according to the Department of Defense.The U.S. resumed boat strikes in late January after largely backing off from attacking boats in the region following the U.S. military’s Jan. 3 kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Photo Credit: McAllister HuntTension is rising across Saint Lucia’s fishing sector after the United States military carried out another deadly strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people and reportedly leaving at least one Saint Lucian believed to be among the dead. US Southern Command confirmed that American forces conducted what it described as a “lethal kinetic strike” on Friday. The military said it was targeting individuals suspected of drug trafficking and referred to those killed as “narco‑terrorists”, though it has not publicly provided supporting evidence. The attack forms part of a series of operations in the region that have reportedly killed at least 133 people since September 2025. News of the latest strike has sparked anger and anxiety among Saint Lucian fishermen, many of whom now say they fear going out to sea. Operations Manager of the Goodwill Fishermen Cooperative, Kaygianna Toussaint Charlery, told St. Lucia Times that concern within the fishing community has intensified over the weekend. She explained that fishermen have long worried about being caught in regional security tensions because of shared waters. However, she said the possibility now feels more real. “If the details are correct, it means that it has happened to one of them,” she said, noting that conversations within the sector have grown more urgent across Saint Lucia and the wider region. Toussaint Charlery stressed that fishing is not simply a profession but a lifeline for many families. “Fishing is not a hobby for our people. It is the livelihood of many low- to middle-income families in Saint Lucia. If they do not feel comfortable going out to sea, you will see fewer trips. Then the question becomes what happens to their income and their ability to put food on the table.” She warned that fear could ripple beyond individual fishermen to affect national food supply and household stability. Toussaint Charlery also addressed the concerns raised about boat modifications, noting that engine size and vessel standards are already governed by the Department of Fisheries. She urged fishers to remain compliant with licensing rules, identification requirements, and territorial limits so their activities remain defensible under the law. Still, she acknowledged that compliance alone may not guarantee safety. “When attacks are happening from the air without interception, it goes beyond whether fishers are operating legally. We are not sure how much intelligence informs these strikes.” Toussaint Charlery criticised the approach taken by the United States, arguing that it undermines the sovereignty of Caribbean states. “I feel the US tends to operate as if it is a law upon itself. We are sovereign countries, and there are more humane ways to deal with issues such as narcotics than disrupting families, livelihoods and entire economies.” She called for cooperation rather than unilateral action, suggesting that intelligence sharing and regional partnerships would be more effective and less harmful. “I am sure every government wants the same things: peace and legality. There must be common ground where we can work together.” Any third-party or user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries published on the St. Lucia Times website (https://stluciatimes.com) in no way convey the thoughts, sentiments or intents of St. Lucia Times, the author of any said article or post, the website, or the business. St. Lucia Times is not responsible or liable for, and does not endorse, any comments or replies posted by users and third parties, and especially the content therein and whether it is accurate. St. Lucia Times reserves the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate content posted by third parties on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times (this includes the said user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries) at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you, or any user. For example, we may remove a comment or reply if we believe it violates any part of the St. Lucia Criminal Code, particularly section 313 which pertains to the offence of Libel. Except as required by law, we have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times. All third-parties and users agree that this is a public forum, and we do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website. Any posts made and information disclosed by you is at your own risk.

US military strikes another boat in the Caribbean, killing three people https://democracynow.org/es/2026/2/16/titulares/us_military_strikes_boat_in_the_caribbean_killing_three_people… via @democracynowes

El Ejército de EE.UU. bombardea otra embarcación en el Caribe y mata a tres personas https://democracynow.org/es/2026/2/16/titulares/us_military_strikes_boat_in_the_caribbean_killing_three_people… a través de @democracynowes

US Attacks Another Boat in the Caribbean The US armed forces announced the action against another vessel, which was allegedly transporting narcotics. "On February 13, under the direction of the commander of Southern Command, General Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike against a vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations," stated US Southern Command. In its statement, it emphasized that, during the operation, three people traveling on the boat were killed and "no US military personnel were injured." As of January, Washington's naval campaign had resulted in dozens of attacks against vessels, killing more than one hundred people.

EEUU ataca otra lancha en el Caribe Las fuerzas armadas estadounidenses dieron a conocer la acción contra un nuevo navío, el cual supuestamente trasladaba narcóticos. "El 13 de febrero, bajo la dirección del comandante del Comando Sur, general Francis L. Donovan, la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Southern Spear realizó un ataque cinético letal contra una embarcación operada por organizaciones terroristas designadas", afirmó el Comando Sur de EEUU en X. En su publicación, destacó que, durante el operativo, tres personas que viajaban en la lancha murieron y "ninguna fuerza militar estadounidense resultó herida". Hasta enero, la campaña naval de Washington dio como resultado decenas de ataques contra navíos, que han matado a más de un centenar de individuos.

Southern Command reported on Friday a new "lethal kinetic attack against a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. The vessel was involved in drug trafficking operations. Three narco-terrorists were killed during the action."

El Comando Sur informó el viernes de un nuevo ataque "cinético letal contra una embarcación operada por Organizaciones Terroristas Designadas. La embarcación participaba en operaciones de narcotráfico. Tres narcosterroristas murieron durante la acción".

The United States bombed another suspected drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean: all three crew members were killed.

Estados Unidos bombardeó otra presunta lancha del narcotráfico en el Caribe: murieron sus tres tripulantes

US destroys another boat in the Caribbean and kills three crew members in the operation

EE.UU. destruye otra lancha en el Caribe y mata a tres tripulantes en la operación

FISHERMEN and other users of the sea in St Lucia and St.Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), are said to be on edge following a lethal US military strike on Friday, February 13, 2026. According to confirmed reports, fishers in Canouan reported having seen and heard the explosions on Friday. The blast reportedly took place around 2:00 p.m, several miles away from the Grenadine island of Canouan, and was confirmed by a 8:37 p.m US military post on Facebook on Friday, February 13, 2026.There was also a website post by U.S. Southern Command stating: “On Feb. 13, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed”.

The remnants of the fishing vessel ‘Zouti’ Creole for tools, is found by a group of Saint Lucian fishermen in the Caribbean Sea, hours after it and its occupants were destroyed by an American missile attack fired from a drone. The fishermen can be heard speaking in their native Creole tongue, asking ‘how they will tie the boat’ and another responding ‘in that little point there’, before towing it back to a spot near Micoud, on the east coast of Saint Lucia. The attack took place on Friday February 13, 2026 somewhere between the coasts of the Grenadines islands of Bequia and Canouan, at about 2:00 p.m.

Two Saint Lucian fishermen are reported dead after the vessel they were on, was destroyed in an explosion near Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The incident, which family members and social media reports suggest may have been a U.S. military strike, has left their tight-knit communities in Saint Lucia in shock and mourning.

The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force is in possession of what appeared to be the remains of a fishing vessel recovered off the coast of Micoud on February 18. The discovery comes amid ongoing investigations into the disappearance of a Saint Lucian man, Ricky Joseph, whose family believes he may have been caught in a recent US military strike in the Caribbean. Joseph’s family has since filed a missing person report, prompting law enforcement to examine whether there may be any connection between his disappearance and the recovered vessel. “This exhibit, if I should say, is now in the custody of the police. Our interest in this vessel is due to the fact that, again, the family assertions are that Ricky Joseph may have been a passenger aboard this vessel, whether as a crew member or a worker,” explained Assistant Commissioner of Police Luke Defreitas. He made it clear that police are treating the matter solely as a missing person report. “At this point, I want to stress that our interest in this vessel is strictly related to the report of the missing person that has been made. We are pursuing information that the disappearance, to date, of Mr Ricky Joseph may have some alignment to the vessel.” When Defreitas was pressed on whether the vessel recovered in Micoud was the same one allegedly destroyed during the recent US strike, he said: “We cannot at this time confirm. We are yet to identify the vessel itself in terms of its registration and ownership. We do not know what obtains with the vessel allegedly destroyed, as you have asked. So, we can make no connection between this vessel that we recovered yesterday and any vessel that may have been involved in the alleged attack,” he said. Any third-party or user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries published on the St. Lucia Times website (https://stluciatimes.com) in no way convey the thoughts, sentiments or intents of St. Lucia Times, the author of any said article or post, the website, or the business. St. Lucia Times is not responsible or liable for, and does not endorse, any comments or replies posted by users and third parties, and especially the content therein and whether it is accurate. St. Lucia Times reserves the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate content posted by third parties on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times (this includes the said user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries) at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you, or any user. For example, we may remove a comment or reply if we believe it violates any part of the St. Lucia Criminal Code, particularly section 313 which pertains to the offence of Libel. Except as required by law, we have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times. All third-parties and users agree that this is a public forum, and we do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website. Any posts made and information disclosed by you is at your own risk.

Fishermen in Vieux Fort and Micoud admit to being fearful of going out to sea. (Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt)Fear is spreading across Saint Lucia’s fishing communities following the United States drone strike on a vessel, with fisherfolk saying the situation is threatening their safety, freedom and livelihoods. And they are calling for authorities to press for the removal of US military operations from Caribbean waters. The Donald Trump administration confirmed that the military conducted a “lethal kinetic strike” last Friday, targeting individuals suspected of drug trafficking and resulting in the deaths of so-called “narco‑terrorists. Although there has been no confirmation of reports that two Saint Lucian fishermen were among those killed in the strike that occurred in the waters of neighbouring Grenadine island Bequia, fishermen told St Lucia Times the strike’s proximity to home has left them anxious. Fishing has long been central to Saint Lucian life. From the island’s earliest inhabitants, the Arawaks and Caribs, to modern generations, the sea has provided food, income, and cultural continuity. Fishing has evolved into a pillar of rural life and coastal economies. But fisherfolk say that legacy now feels under threat. Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt Mathaius “MJ”, a fisherman based in the south of the island, did not hide his anger when speaking to St Lucia Times about the situation. “What Trump doing is wickedness,” he said. “We have plenty fishermen out there. Fish is what we depend on. We have loans to pay, children to feed. Now men afraid to go out.” MJ explained that fishermen typically leave port around 3 a.m. to reach fishing grounds early, a practice that outsiders may misinterpret. “We go out in the early morning to reach the FAD [fish aggregating device which is used to attract pelagic fish] before the fish move,” he said. “That is normal for us. But now I can’t even go where I have to go….I don’t feel safe.” MJ said the impact is already visible at the Vieux Fort Fisheries Complex. He noted that activity there has fallen dramatically. “That place always full of life,” MJ said. “But this morning only two boats went out. Men afraid. Their wives telling them don’t go far.” Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt Photo Credit: McAllister Hunt Veteran fisherman Joseph Dalsan says the issue cuts deeper than economics. “This is how we put food on the table,” he said. “My grandfather did it, his grandfather did it before him. Why kill people on the spot? If you suspect a boat, board it, search it, arrest the people if they are criminals. Let justice take its course.” Dalsan believes the strikes send the wrong message to Caribbean communities. “America does not kill their own like that,” he added. “They have bigger problems to deal with.” The Goodwill Fishermen’s Cooperative Society says it understands the fear gripping the sector and urges fishermen to remain compliant with regulations so their rights can be defended if necessary. Operations Manager Kaygianna Toussaint said vessel specifications such as engine size and horsepower are governed by the Department of Fisheries and must follow legal guidelines. “The quantity and power of engines on a vessel are not random choices,” she explained. “They fall under regulations. Fishers must ensure their operations are legal and above board so there is evidence to support them if anything happens.” She also encouraged fishermen to remain within territorial waters where their activities can be verified. “If they operate within the law, there is a framework to defend them,” Toussaint said. Still, many fishermen feel that compliance alone will not protect them from aerial strikes that leave little opportunity for verification or response. Questions remain about the identities of those killed in recent US operations. Yesterday, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force confirmed it is investigating the disappearance of Ricky Joseph, a Saint Lucian man whose family believes may have been caught in one of the strikes. Assistant Commissioner of Police Luke Defreitas said they are looking into whether there is any connection between the remains of a charred fishing vessel recovered off the coast of Micoud on Wednesday, and the disappearance of Joseph who “may have been a passenger aboard this vessel, whether as a crew member or a worker”. Any third-party or user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries published on the St. Lucia Times website (https://stluciatimes.com) in no way convey the thoughts, sentiments or intents of St. Lucia Times, the author of any said article or post, the website, or the business. St. Lucia Times is not responsible or liable for, and does not endorse, any comments or replies posted by users and third parties, and especially the content therein and whether it is accurate. St. Lucia Times reserves the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate content posted by third parties on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times (this includes the said user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries) at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you, or any user. For example, we may remove a comment or reply if we believe it violates any part of the St. Lucia Criminal Code, particularly section 313 which pertains to the offence of Libel. Except as required by law, we have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times. All third-parties and users agree that this is a public forum, and we do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website. Any posts made and information disclosed by you is at your own risk.

Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre responds to questions from members of the local media during Monday’s pre-Cabinet press briefing.Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre says Saint Lucia has received no new details from the United States about a US military strike conducted near the waters between Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent that killed three people on February 13. The incident, which American forces described as a “lethal kinetic strike” targeting a vessel on alleged drug-trafficking routes, has sparked concern across the region, especially after at least one Saint Lucian, Ricky Joseph, was reported missing following the attack. Joseph’s family believes he may have been aboard the vessel when it was struck.  Bilateral talks between Saint Lucia and the US were held during the recent CARICOM Heads of Government meeting, with discussions focusing on regional security, drug interdiction and health. Pierre said he raised questions about the February 13 incident amid growing public interest and concern. “I will hasten to tell you that we got no more information on what happened in the waters of St Vincent and Saint Lucia,” the Prime Minister said at the March 2 pre-Cabinet press briefing. Pierre also shared what the US has told him so far about the operations. “What the Americans are firm on is that they are very, very firm on not allowing drugs, when they perceive it, to come through our waters,” he said. American authorities have referred to those killed as “narcoterrorists,” though they have not publicly provided evidence linking the vessel or its occupants to drug trafficking. Pierre added that U.S officials told him they “work on intelligence” and that when such actions occur, it is typically done for “a reason.” Joseph’s family has filed a missing person report with local police, who later recovered what appeared to be the remains of a fishing vessel off the coast of Micoud. While local authorities said they are investigating the connection between the recovered vessel and his disappearance, they have not confirmed any official link to the U.S. strike. 

An unconfirmed number of St. Lucian fishermen are believed to have been killed in a recent lethal U.S. boat strike in Caribbean waters, the latest in an expanding American military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking vessels that has claimed more than 130 lives since last September.St. Lucian Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre on Monday confirmed that “people had lost their lives” under unclear circumstances but clarified that he had received no official notification regarding the incident to date. His statement followed reports that the burnt hulls of at least two fishing vessels had surfaced off Canouan and Bequia over the weekend, following deadly U.S. strikes on February 13 and February 16.- Advertisement -On Saturday, U.S. Southern Command announced the February 13 strike, which it said was carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear in the Caribbean and had killed three people. The announcement did not indicate the specific location of the strike within the region. However, according to local media, residents reported seeing a flash of light on the water near Bequia, followed by a “massive explosion.” Images of the debris have since circulated widely on social media.Following SouthCom’s announcement of three additional strikes on February 16, one again identified as occurring in Caribbean waters, the Express was told that remnants of a second vessel were spotted near the island.Relatives of at least two local fishermen have since told local media they believe their loved ones were killed in the military action. A report from MBC on Tuesday identified one of the men as 38-year-old fisherman Rickey Joseph, a father of four. Another man, identified as Navi, is also believed to have been killed.The MBC report stated that both men had departed from Savannes Bay in St. Lucia on February 11 for what was described as a routine fishing trip. They were expected to return home that evening but have not been seen since.“What we have are the remnants from the vessels. The belief is that there were two strikes and two boats were hit, and one of those boats may have had St. Lucian fishermen on it. We are left to make assumptions, and nothing is known for sure without concrete evidence. The two vessels you see have come into some sort of misadventure; they were burnt and destroyed,” a St. Lucian resident told the Express.During a news conference on Monday, Pierre was pressed about the identities of those who had lost their lives but reiterated that he had received no official confirmation. He added that the matter would be investigated by “the powers responsible for investigations.”A statement later posted to his social media accounts noted that the St. Lucian government was actively engaging established diplomatic channels to verify the facts and promised that confirmed information would be communicated to the public promptly.“In matters affecting national security and regional stability, speculation has no place. Our approach is disciplined, fact-based, and guided by the singular priority of protecting the people and interests of Saint Lucia,” he said.

REV-UP SLU DAILY NEWS Police Probe Damaged Vessel and Missing Vieux Fort Fisherman A damaged vessel discovered off Pointe Vigie has prompted a police investigation, but authorities are making it clear that their focus remains solely on a missing person case, not reports of a deadly United States strike in regional waters. Assistant Commissioner of Police Luke Defreitas stressed that law enforcement’s involvement is tied to the disappearance of Ricky Joseph, amid speculation linking the vessel to wider regional developments. “Our interest in this vessel is due to the fact that, again, the family assertions are that Ricky Joseph may have been a passenger aboard this vessel, whether as crew member or a worker,” Defreitas explained. “Again, these are assertions that have not been confirmed by law enforcement. At this point, I want to stress that our interest in this vessel is strictly related to the report of the missing person that has been made.” He added that investigators are working to determine whether there is any connection between the vessel and Joseph’s disappearance. “We are pursuing information that the disappearance to date of Mr. Ricky Joseph may have some alignment to the vessel,” he said. The discovery has also fueled public speculation following reports circulating on social media and regional news platforms about a deadly United States military strike targeting suspected drug smuggling vessels. However, police say they have no direct involvement in those matters. “The police department’s information on that is as many persons via social media. We have seen reports from various news agencies within the region. There has been discussion on an incident at various levels, governmental and otherwise,” Defreitas noted. He was clear, however, that any such incident falls outside Saint Lucia’s jurisdiction. “Again, I wish to reiterate that it appears whatever may have happened did not happen within the territorial waters of Saint Lucia and as such we have no jurisdiction or oversight in terms of an investigation,” he stated. Authorities continue to examine the vessel as part of ongoing enquiries into the missing person report, urging the public to avoid speculation while investigations remain active. revupslu.com

Family of St. Lucia fishing boat captain seeks answers after deadly US strike in Caribbean By ANSELM GIBBS Updated 9:03 PM EST, February 26, 2026 PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Relatives of a boat captain from the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia told The Associated Press on Thursday that he has been missing since a recent U.S. strike on a suspected drug vessel in the region. They fear that Ricky Joseph, a 35-year-old father of four, was killed because they said they have not had any contact with him since the Feb. 13 strike, the latest in a series of attacks targeting alleged drug smugglers that have also killed fishermen in the Caribbean, angering many in the region. Titus Joseph said he last spoke to his younger brother two days before the strike. After hearing fishermen describe the boat they believe was targeted in the strike, Titus Joseph said he feared his brother had been killed. “From the time they told me that the inside of it was red and black and green, I then said, ‘if that’s the boat that blew up, that’s the boat my brother went out to sea on,’” Titus Joseph told the AP in a phone interview. He said that Ricky Joseph lived in Vieux Fort on the southern tip of St. Lucia, and that he worked as a fishing boat captain for most of his life. The U.S. military said three narco-terrorists were killed in the Feb. 13 strike. Titus Joseph dismissed claims that his brother was involved in drug trafficking or any other criminal activity. “That man never got arrested,” Titus Joseph said. Ricky Joseph’s family members have since filed a missing person report following his disappearance. What was left of a severely damaged boat has since washed ashore in St. Lucia, and local police said they have taken custody of the vessel. However, police would not confirm whether the damaged boat was the one targeted in the strike. On Thursday, the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines said the strike happened in its waters as it warned fishermen to be cautious at sea. The archipelago is located just south of St. Lucia. The strikes began in early September and have killed at least 151 people as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump targets those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels. The latest strike in Caribbean waters occurred on Monday, killing three people, according to the U.S. military.

Coast Guard Commander Deon Henry, has urged local fishermen to prioritize safety at sea following a recent military operation in the country’s waters.Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Commander Henry emphasized the importance of a “float plan,” where each fisherman informs family or authorities about their route and expected return time.He also advised fishermen to wear bright colors for easier identification and urged them to report any suspicious activity, particularly from non-national vessels, to both the Coast Guard and the police. Audio PlayerCommander Henry confirmed that the vessel was struck by a missile within the country’s waters, as was reported by Southern Command on February 13th.He stated that fishermen at the location saw the strike near the fish-attracting devices installed in 2024, about 45 miles southeast of Saint Vincent, in the country’s exclusive economic zone. Audio PlayerContinue Reading

The Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force assured the public that recent military activity in local waters was a precise, intelligence led strike against a vessel linked to narcotics trafficking, not aimed at fishermen.Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Commissioner of Police Enville Williams revealed that the operation, conducted on February 13th by U.S. Southern Command, was based on precise intelligence targeting organized drug trafficking.Additionally, the COP stated that following the strike, authorities uncovered large quantities of cocaine and so far, 9 kilos have been seized. Audio PlayerMeanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Immigration, Major the Hon. St. Claire Leacock, clarified today that the recent military operation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines waters was a precise, intelligence-driven strike against a drug trafficking vessel. He further stressed a crucial distinction, this was a military to police briefing, not a formal communication from the U.S. State Department to the government. Audio PlayerContinue Reading

“The passing of the popular Pichirilo, a great sports talent from Valdés, has been reported. Our condolences to his family,” posted @elshowderuben, a Facebook page for the program of the same name on Radio Güiria Internacional in Venezuela, on October 15, 2025. Their post received 483 reactions, mostly crying emojis or expressions of grief. “Pichirilo, you have no idea how much your news hurts, I will never forget you,” wrote a friend. “Rest in peace, Eduardo, popular Pichirilo,” “Rest in peace, my friend Pichirilo, excellent athlete. Great talent in front of the goal,” others commented. The day before, on October 14, a missile fired by the U.S. military had destroyed a boat off the Venezuelan coast near Güiria, a town in the municipality of Valdés, Sucre state, and a departure point for Trinidad and Tobago. According to the official US government video, the vessel was stationary when it was attacked. It was the fifth US attack on ships in the Caribbean. With the six people killed there, the death toll reached 27. US President Donald Trump stated on his social media that his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, had given the order to strike on a known drug trafficking route in international waters, and that US intelligence “confirmed that the boat was trafficking narcotics” and was associated with narco-terrorist networks. The radio host of @showderuben told reporters from this journalistic alliance that he published the news about Pichirilo because he knew he was well-known in Güiria. “This is a small town and everyone knows each other here,” he explained, although he denied knowing anything about the circumstances of his death. Reporters from Rebel Alliance Investigates (ARI)—a coalition of the Venezuelan independent media outlets Runrunes, Tal Cual, and El Pitazo—allied with this investigation, confirmed in Güiria that Pichirilo's name was Eduardo Jaime, and that he was a beloved futsal player in that coastal town on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast. A family member later confirmed to this alliance by phone that Eduardo Jaime was on the boat that was shot down on October 14. From September 2015 until April 26 of this year, in what was called Operation Southern Spear, U.S. military forces destroyed 58 vessels with missile strikes and caused the deaths of 172 people like Eduardo Jaime—according to confirmation from the U.S. Southern Command in response to questions sent by this journalistic team via email. Since then, and until May 5, when this story was finalized, the U.S. government has publicly announced that it carried out two more attacks that killed five more people. US authorities also counted a total of 12 other missing persons, presumed dead. However, this journalistic alliance verified with sources in Costa Rica that of three presumed survivors of a March bombing at sea off the coast of that country, two died before reaching land. Thus, the death toll reached 179 as of May 5. In its written response, the US Southern Command stated that “every action taken during Operation Southern Spear is deliberate, legal, and precise, directed squarely against narco-terrorists and their facilitators. We have full confidence in the operations and intelligence professionals who inform our missions.” (See the full response here) However, days after the attack in which Pichirilo was killed that same October, Trump administration officials acknowledged in reports to members of Congress and their staff that they did not know the identity or background of the people they killed, as revealed by The Intercept. “It’s a double tragedy, not only because of the illegal killings, but also because the victims are erased, rendered anonymous,” said John Walsh of WOLA, a Washington-based human rights organization in Latin America, in a telephone interview with CLIP. Agreeing with Walsh and many others, including human rights experts, members of Congress, former U.S. government officials, and civil society organizations, who have questioned the legality of killing these men on the mere suspicion that they might be transporting drugs, a transnational journalistic alliance has been working since last December to identify these dead men, convinced that by revealing their faces and stories, their humanity will emerge. The alliance, coordinated by the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP), brings together media outlets from the ARI region of Venezuela; 360, Casa Macondo, and Verdad Abierta of Colombia; and Guardian of Trinidad and Tobago. And freelance journalists in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Mexico, with technical and financial support from Airwars, today release the first findings of the investigation, "Bombed, Without the Right to Defense." This collaborative investigation has been a painstaking task, weaving together the loose threads of many tragedies. To this end, we have visited hamlets and coastal towns in La Guajira and Nariño, Colombia, and Sucre, Venezuela; interviewed family members, friends, and acquaintances of victims, as well as local authorities and reporters in five countries; tracked and verified hundreds of social media posts; identified dozens of publications from recognized media outlets in multiple countries and languages; made dozens of information requests to authorities; contacted prosecutors' offices, hospitals, morgues, and embassies; and verified public and judicial records. With all this information, we built a database that, we hope, will contribute to raising awareness that these men were human beings who deserved to be tried if they were suspected of committing any crime. Most sources are anonymous because everyone is afraid to speak. Some relatives of victims in Venezuela and Santa Marta, Colombia, according to sources consulted by this alliance, say they have received threats. Others don't want to say anything because they fear reprisals from their governments or, worse, from the drug lords who rule where they live. Government agencies have been tight-lipped, and officials who respond only do so off the record because they don't want to cause problems for their countries with the United States. Adding the names of the people other media outlets and organizations have managed to identify, along with the new fatalities identified by this journalistic alliance, we have been able to obtain the full names of 16 of those killed in these attacks. We identified the nationality of two more, and the nickname of another. We have information about the identities of two other people whose remains washed ashore on a beach in northern Colombia days after an attack, but we don't know for sure if they were killed in a bombing. We have the full name of another possible victim. We have identified three wounded survivors. It's like looking for needles in a haystack of 179 people killed between September 2nd and May 5th, and the count continues… Each explosion shatters the ship and its crew—whether traffickers, passengers, or fishermen—into a thousand pieces. Their identities are blown to bits across vast oceans. This cross-border journalistic collaboration also found that the destructive wave doesn't stop there. As the on-the-ground reporting will show, Operation Southern Spear has further unraveled the fabric of communities already broken and broken by organized crime and the absence of the state, and has terrorized fishermen and travelers to the point of paralyzing the economy of a town in Nariño. We also verified that it disrupted at least 18 commercial flights in the Colombian Caribbean. Furthermore, we documented how it has fragmented international cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs, because other democracies fear being involved in actions that disregard international agreements governing the sea and international human rights law. The shockwave of the bombing reverberates with the fear among officials and prosecutors of revealing details of the rescues or their coordinates, as the neighbor to the North could retaliate with new tariffs or personal attacks on the government. Often, they don't even respond to those asking about their dead. The Bombed On the same boat as 'Pichirilo,' the soccer player, were Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two Trinidadians, whose relatives are now suing the U.S. government for their extrajudicial killings. The world learned of Chad and Samaroo because their families filed a legal complaint last January in a federal court in Massachusetts, seeking compensation for damages related to their deaths. According to the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, a member of this alliance, last December, in the village where Joseph was born—he was 26 years old at the time of the October 14 bombing—everyone had known him since childhood as a fisherman. He had left his hometown of Matelot, a fishing village on the Trinidadian coast, to live with an aunt in Las Cuevas, a community with lifelong ties to Venezuela. “It was Joseph’s family, being among the first to identify him among more than 100 people who have lost their lives in the attacks, who shone a human light on the people who have died as a result of the United States’ attacks in the Caribbean Sea. The human stories prompted members of Congress to begin putting pressure on the Trump administration, demanding transparency about these attacks and attempting to question and stop them,” wrote the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, two months after his presumed death. That same publication interviewed Lenore Burnley, Chad’s mother, who said that “since hearing the news, her life has been characterized by the contradictory storm of having a faint hope and the stark reality of Joseph’s sudden death, without a body to bury.” And when The Guardian asked her why she thought Joseph had risked going out, she replied: “I know the law of the sea; I’ve known it since I was young. If it’s a ship, or something like that, you’re supposed to stop it, you see? The law isn’t about killing people. Wherever you are, you shouldn’t kill people like that. This is the first time in my life, and I’m 51 years old. I’ve never heard of anything like this.” The local newspaper reported that, according to Chad Joseph’s partner, he had called her to say he was returning home from Venezuela. Sallycar Korasingh, Rishi Samaroo’s sister, said he was a hard-working man who had paid his debt to society and was just trying to get back on his feet and earn a decent living in Venezuela by raising cows and goats to help support his family, the ACLU said in a statement. “If the U.S. government believed Rishi had done something wrong, they should have arrested, charged, and detained him, not killed him. They must be held accountable,” said Korasingh. Representing Joseph’s mother and Samaroo’s sister in their case before the U.S. courts are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School. The lawyers filed the suit under admiralty law, which allows individuals to seek compensation for damages from those responsible for wrongful death, as defined by the Death at Sea Act (DOHSA), recognized by the United States. They also invoked the Alien Torts Statute, which allows foreigners to sue in the United States for extrajudicial killings, prohibited under international human rights law. “The deaths of Joseph and Samaroo were clearly extrajudicial killings,” Steven Watt, one of the ACLU lawyers, explained to this journalistic alliance. They cannot be justified with arguments like those put forward by the Trump administration, that being in a war on drugs justifies the use of violent attacks, he said. Watt also said that his legal team, in a separate request based on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), requested the legal memorandum produced by the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice, which outlines the official legal rationale for these attacks, because the government has not made it public to date. The relatives of the Trinidadians maintain that neither of them was carrying drugs, that they were ordinary citizens returning to their homes in Las Cuevas, Trinidad, after working in Venezuela. According to local sources who spoke to ARI, the Venezuelan media coalition allied with this investigation, a man named Dushak Milovcic had traveled on the same boat attacked on October 14. An AP report stated that Milovcic, 24, “started as a lookout for smugglers,” had been at the Venezuelan National Guard Academy, and, according to sources who spoke to the AP reporter, was now involved with drug traffickers. The boat attacked on October 14 was not the only one suspected of carrying illegal drugs due to the high number of passengers. Several news outlets and observers also expressed doubts about the first boat bombed on September 2, 2025, which had 11 passengers on board. According to some people interviewed on the ground, who are familiar with the movement of the boats and spoke with allies of this investigation in La Guajira, Colombia, and Sucre, it is common for the same boats that carry drugs on their way to Venezuela to bring passengers back. The “captains,” as those who pilot these boats are called, sign up for any job that comes up. Reported by: Vera Ferrari “To all the narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you continue trafficking lethal drugs, we will kill you,” threatened Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War, on November 7, the day after a deadly attack on a speedboat with three occupants in the Caribbean, off the coast of Colombia. With statements like these, anyone would imagine that multiple Pablo Escobars and Chapo Guzmans had just been killed. Reporters from this alliance found a very different reality. The remains of two people, presumably killed on November 6, appeared in Puerto López, Uribia, in La Guajira, Colombia. Various sources in La Guajira said the two men came from Pedernales, Dominican Republic, a province bordering Haiti in the Enriquillo region, where 72% of households live in poverty. A Dominican reporter confirmed to this alliance that dozens of young people leave from there to make a living in Colombia or elsewhere, and many are recruited to smuggle cocaine from the Colombian Caribbean coast back to the island in small boats. Since no one came to claim the bodies that washed ashore on the Colombian beach, because they had no relatives there, the Wayuu indigenous community living in that region buried them, as reported at the time by The New York Times. A month later, forensic technicians from the Colombian Institute of Legal Medicine arrived and exhumed them. According to the Colombian news outlet 360-grados.co, a partner in this journalistic collaboration, this occurred between December 12 and 13, and as of this writing, the bodies remain refrigerated at the Forensic Medicine Institute in Barranquilla. Sources from the Colombian Attorney General's Office indicated that one of the bodies exhumed in La Guajira likely did not come from the attacked boats, given its state of decomposition. Local sources stated that they knew that the remains of another Dominican man who died on the boat on November 6 were not found in Colombia. The body had been dragged beyond Castilletes, some 20 kilometers inland into Venezuelan territory, where it is believed that members of the Wayuu community buried it. We were unable to confirm this version. (See “The victims of the Southern Command who were buried in La Guajira”). These young Dominicans are not very different from those in Uribia, in the Colombian region of La Guajira, where they went to look for work. Uribia is the poorest municipality in Colombia: 92% of its residents lack education, healthcare, and basic public services. This makes it easy to recruit them to transport cocaine, and they are paid for it, according to a boatman interviewed by the news outlet 360. “Most of the people here aren't owners; most of the owners of the merchandise are always from outside, we could even say internationally: they buy the merchandise here [in Colombia] and then wait for it at its destination,” the boatman explained to this journalistic alliance. Dozens of Dominicans have fallen into this trap of hope for a better life, and many have disappeared. Now the uncertainty is even worse for their relatives because they don't know if they were killed by U.S. missiles. This is what a Dominican woman, who spoke with this alliance but prefers not to give her name, fears. She hasn't heard from her brother Francisco—who worked various jobs in the tourism sector and had agreed to transport a shipment of drugs—since he called her from a boat about to set sail for home. It was mid-November, and he was using a satellite phone. It was a short conversation. He asked about his parents and told her he was coming back. He never returned. The bombings have also led many victims not to report disappearances. The reason? According to Dominican journalist Manuel González Feliz, it's a mixture of fear and shame among family members. As in Pedernales or La Guajira, Colombia, for many communities on the Colombian Pacific coast, transporting cocaine is not a criminal choice, but a survival strategy. The isolation of this region of jungles and mangroves, which stretches 1,300 kilometers from north to south of the country, contributes to its poverty. In Tumaco, Colombia's second-largest Pacific port and the departure point for many transporters, 84% of the population lives in multidimensional poverty. Drug trafficking groups exploit this situation by offering jobs in laboratories, shipyards, and as transporters. “It's the only source of employment that keeps these communities going. I know it's illegal, but it's what we have,” explains Duván Caicedo, a community leader in the small village of Pital de Costa, nestled between a river and the jungle on Colombia's Pacific coast. The 1,200 inhabitants of the hamlet live without potable water or a health clinic, a two-hour boat ride from Tumaco and the nearest hospital. A cocaine processing lab is the only source of work. In Sucre, the Venezuelan state where Güiria is located, 90% of the population lacks food security. According to ARI, almost no one is exclusively involved in cocaine trafficking. These boats are the lifeblood of the people on that coast: they bring and take away food, fish, and medicine. They carry workers from Venezuela to Trinidad and back, fishermen going out to bring in the day's catch, migrants fleeing authoritarianism, and also traffickers. (See story "All the 'turns' in Güiria"). When they carry drugs, there are usually two or at most three people on board: a driver and two assistants. This investigation reveals that the victims of the US bombings who came from Güiria worked as fishermen, motorcycle taxi drivers, bus drivers, and some of them had risked making a trip with cocaine because they couldn't support their families. Thus, Juan Carlos Fuentes, 43, a lifelong driver, and Luis Ramón Amundaraín, a 36-year-old fisherman and motorcycle taxi driver, had been in Trinidad and Tobago since September 28, 2025. Juan Carlos, his wife says, was desperate for money. A Yutong bus he used for his livelihood was damaged, and he couldn't afford to repair it. He called her from Trinidad the day before the October 3 bombing in which he presumably died and told her he was about to leave; that he wasn't carrying drugs. Ramón, his partner says, "went to look for more income" because the earnings from fishing and motorcycle taxis were no longer enough for his family of seven. She told ARI reporters that her husband was a fisherman. "They say he's a narco-terrorist," she said, but she maintains that if he were, they would have assets, and they don't even own a house. His family believes he died with Juan Carlos on October 3. What the women say makes sense, because their husbands were coming from Trinidad and Tobago to Venezuela, and the drugs flow in the opposite direction. Another man, Eduard Hidalgo, 46, had been a skilled fisherman and had left for the United States at the end of 2014. He was deported a year later. A friend maintains that although he had transported various goods for the criminal bosses in the area, he didn't want to make any more trips, "but they forced him." She believes he died in the bombing of a boat on February 23. (See story "The gringos exploited them": How three Venezuelans ended up on the boats attacked by the United States) Fear and hunger It's not just the families of the dead who mourn them today. The shockwaves are also impacting the communities. For example, for several days, fishermen in the rural area of Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific port, suspended their work for fear of not returning home, although they gradually resumed fishing later. The municipality of Olaya Herrera, in Nariño, was the most affected. A person working in the region's humanitarian sector, who asked to remain anonymous, told this alliance that many people there depend on the money collected by truckers after completing a trip. "When they return, money comes into the community, commerce picks up, and everyone benefits," they said. With the fear of making trips transporting drugs, money stopped coming into the families. "We are experiencing a very difficult situation," says Father Luis Carrillo. "It started to be felt in November, but it became critical in February." In coordination with the Mayor's office, the priest requested assistance from the Food Bank in Bogotá, and in March, 700 food baskets arrived by boat from Buenaventura and were distributed in the town of Bocas de Satinga and the surrounding rural area. “Obviously, that doesn’t alleviate even one percent of the needs,” says the parish priest. Who is investigating? Authorities in no country, from the United States to Colombia or Mexico, reveal how much drug was lost, how many of those killed in bombings were transporting it, or their names. They haven’t even reported how they gathered the intelligence that led them to identify these victims as military targets. This journalistic alliance sent a questionnaire with these and other questions to the United States Southern Command. They responded that “for reasons of operational security and the protection of forces, we do not discuss intelligence or details about our operational processes and planning.” His spokesperson also said that “the threat that narco-terrorists and cartels pose to human life cannot be ignored. They have escalated their violence to unprecedented levels, going beyond mere criminal conduct by committing unspeakable acts of terror. It is not only their criminal rivals who are in their sights; they are waging war against law-abiding citizens, entire communities, and government institutions, carrying out atrocious acts to impose their will and satisfy their insatiable thirst for illicit income.” Sources at the Dominican Republic embassy in Colombia confirmed to this news team that the only information received regarding the possible deaths of two of their citizens came from a speech by Colombian President Gustavo Petro; however, no official steps have been taken to identify them. They described the matter as “politically sensitive.” In Ecuador, the Navy's Coast Guard Service has not released any details about the search and rescue operations for possible survivors that—according to the U.S.—began after a bombing in the Pacific on February 9, 2026, as confirmed by a reporter supporting this investigation in that country. In the Costa Rican Pacific, authorities recovered two bodies and one survivor. The two deceased were Ecuadorian. Reporters from this alliance were able to confirm with security sources in Ecuador that one of them, Pedro Ramón Holguín Holguín, owned a fish retail business in Manta, a coastal city that is now a center of drug trafficking activity in the country. They also established that the Ecuadorian embassy in Costa Rica assisted with the identification of the remains, but their bodies are still in a morgue in San José, the Costa Rican capital. Casa Macondo, an ally of this investigation in Colombia, sent information requests to various authorities. DIMAR, the Colombian maritime authority, asserted that no one had reported any bombings in its territorial waters. Last November, the Foreign Ministry convened a meeting with the Ministry of Defense, the Navy, and the National Intelligence Directorate. The result was that all entities stated they had no official information beyond what had been reported in the media. The written conclusion, signed by the Director of Territorial Sovereignty, Javier Pava Sánchez, was that “our sovereignty has not been violated.” Thirteen days after that meeting, the Colombian ambassador to the OAS addressed the Permanent Council to denounce these same attacks as violations of international law. On December 23, Colombia reiterated this denunciation at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. The President of Colombia himself, Gustavo Petro, publicly stated that he had visited the home of Alejandro Andrés Carranza, a fisherman whose house was bombed on September 15, in Santa Marta, and had seen that he was living in poverty. He denounced these attacks as extrajudicial executions. Furthermore, he facilitated a meeting between a US lawyer and Carranza's family so they could consider filing a lawsuit for damages, according to the lawyer in question, Daniel Kovalik, who spoke to reporters from this alliance. Kovalik ultimately filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS, arguing that Carranza's death was an extrajudicial execution and that the United States therefore violated the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. The verbal attacks between Presidents Trump and Petro, which had been escalating for some time, became heated after these statements. Finally, President Petro met with Trump at the White House, and the accusations subsided. Sources at the Colombian Foreign Ministry now claim that the issue is so sensitive that they neither mention it nor provide any information about it. One of Casa Macondo's requests for information did bear fruit and revealed an effect of these bombings that had gone unnoticed: that coinciding with the aerial attacks on the suspected boats, the number of disruptions to commercial flights in Colombia increased in 2025. Using information from Aerocivil (the Colombian civil aviation authority), Casa Macondo determined that between January and July 2025, between four and five incidents involving the GPS systems of commercial aircraft were reported monthly, a level within the expected range for any airspace. But from August onward, coinciding with the eve of the bombing campaign, the reports increased fivefold. For the year, it recorded a total of 251 reports of GPS failures and classified them as unrelated to its systems. It closed the case without investigating the cause. Aerocivil reported that during 18 commercial flights over the northern Caribbean, pilots experienced GPS malfunctions while crossing AMBAS—the name given to an air navigation coordinate system over the Caribbean Sea, north of Colombia, where routes connecting Bogotá and Medellín with Miami, New York, Santo Domingo, and Curaçao converge. The signal was lost for between eight minutes and an hour—while the aircraft were flying at altitudes between 30,000 and 40,000 feet (approximately nine to twelve kilometers)—and was restored upon leaving Colombian airspace. The GPS always shut down in the same location and always reconnected once the aircraft had moved away. In one of the cases reported by Aerocivil, a pilot's GPS failed, and then, due to another malfunction, the transponder—the device that tells ground radar where the aircraft is—stopped transmitting. In the cockpit, the anti-collision system alarms activated, as if the ground were close, when in reality the aircraft was thousands of feet in the air. The pilot, who spoke with this news alliance on condition of anonymity, said he was frightened because it had never happened to him before, but that airplanes have at least three redundant navigation systems, and there is always a backup when one fails. "There was no danger to the passengers," he said. By providing these records, the aviation authority acknowledged that these incidents constitute a "disruption to civil air navigation" and officially classified them under its "hazard identification" protocol for airspace safety. (See Story: Commercial planes flew with interference coinciding with US bombings of the boats) Attacks that undermine the fight against drug trafficking Missile strikes may be more spectacular and violent than the quiet, regular interception and seizure that President Trump had been denigrating as useless, but no less effective for that. Thus, while Trump celebrated his first bombing on September 2nd of the boat with 11 crew members, as an attack against terrorists from the Tren de Aragua gang “identified with certainty” and claimed that it was carrying “massive quantities of drugs,” the Vice President asserted that it was the best and highest use of the armed forces. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, echoing these statements the following day, asserted that intercepting drug-carrying boats had not worked. “Instead of intercepting them, we blew them up, following the President’s order. And it’s going to happen again,” he said. What the US government officials failed to mention is that on that same September 2nd, Operation Zeus took place, which, however, did not involve lightning from the sky like the bombing that killed the 11 crew members. In Operation Zeus, the Colombian Aerospace Force had detected a suspicious vessel in the same Caribbean waters and shared the coordinates with the Dominican Air Force. The latter, in coordination with the US Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida, dispatched naval units to intercept it. They boarded the vessel, arrested its two crew members, and seized 448 kilograms of cocaine, turned over evidence to a criminal case, and there were no fatalities. It wasn't the only one. A CLIP investigation tracked regular counternarcotics interdictions in the Caribbean and Pacific conducted by U.S. entities in cooperation with European and Latin American countries between September 2025 and February 2026. The investigation relied on information from law enforcement and press reports in various languages and countries, and consulted public records available through Global Fishing Watch's API v3 and Vesseltracker. It found that, thanks to this international cooperation, at least 140 tons of cocaine were seized and 160 crew members were arrested and subsequently brought to justice without a single shot being fired. The investigation also revealed that, coinciding with the operation targeting speedboats, the Tasmanian-flagged tugboat Little Girls, the Greek fishing vessel Ourania A, and the older Turkish-owned vessel United S all passed through the Atlantic loaded with drugs. None of these vessels were destroyed by missiles. They waited until the vessels reached a safe location to immobilize them, seize the drugs they were carrying, and arrest their crews. Furthermore, the operation against the Ourania A led to the arrest of a known Greek drug trafficker. Regular anti-narcotics operations and lethal attacks were carried out in the same waters, during the same weeks, with intelligence coordination that in several cases passed through the same institutional nodes: the MAOC-N in Lisbon, the Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JITF-S) in Key West, and the DEA. (See story: For large shipments, justice; for small ones, bombs). Who makes the decisions? Who ordered which vessel to blow up and which to let pass and then detain civilly? That's what we asked Southern Command. He did not answer the question, but instead sent the following comment: “Operation Southern Spear is being conducted under the orders of our Commander-in-Chief to defend U.S. homeland, protect regional partners, and maintain law and order by preventing narco-terrorists, cartels, and their network of accomplices from gaining a foothold in the Western Hemisphere through an overwhelming presence. The objective of the operation is to detect, disrupt, and dismantle the networks of cartels and other transnational organizations that the President of the United States, by executive order, has designated as terrorist organizations.” Legal experts have already raised concerns about the meaning of the term “narco-terrorist,” but Brian Finucane, senior advisor to the U.S. Program at the International Crisis Group and a former lawyer in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of State, told this alliance that the U.S. military’s comments in response to this report take those concerns a step further. “The law of war permits violence that would otherwise be prohibited, but only during a genuine armed conflict—a threshold the Trump administration has failed to reach, as it hasn’t even identified who the United States is supposed to be fighting,” he said. “Beyond that fundamental problem, the administration’s suggestion that vaguely defined ‘facilitators’ can be targeted raises further concerns that it is violating the rules of its own flawed legal paradigm.” While international cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking proceeded normally and without fatalities during the six months from September to February, the multiple attacks carried out by the U.S. government left 140 dead, with no publicly reported cocaine seizures and destroying the forensic evidence that could lead to identifying the major drug traffickers who control the routes. In fact, the Colombian Attorney General's Office only opened a preliminary inquiry against survivor Jonathan Obando Pérez, according to El País América, "but does not foresee turning it into a formal investigation, as it lacks evidence to indicate that Obando Pérez committed any crime in Colombia." Therefore, after leaving the hospital, he was released. A source cited by AP from the Ecuadorian Attorney General's Office also stated that it "did not find sufficient evidence to initiate legal action" against Andrés Fernando Tufiño, a survivor of an attack in the Caribbean on October 16. Due to potential violations of human rights and the law of the sea, authorities in the United Kingdom and Canada said they would not share intelligence with their counterparts in the United States, as reported by Time. British sources told the magazine last November that "British officials believe that the US military strikes that have killed 76 people violate international law" and, therefore, suspended cooperation on these types of attacks in October. And Canadian sources said that their government “does not want its intelligence to help locate ships as targets for deadly strikes.” Last January, the Dutch Defense Minister said in Aruba that interdiction operations would continue in his country's territorial waters, but they would not use their naval station ship for operations related to the United States' Operation Southern Spear (the bombing operation). “No European country, including France, will send operational intelligence to the Americans in the current situation if it could be used as a basis for a military attack on a ship,” Dimitro Zoulas, head of the French police's anti-drug service, told Radio Caraibes (RCI). And Euractiv confirmed with a French security source that “it is 100 percent clear that the Europeans are not giving the United States any intelligence that could lead to a strike (against the ships).” The Colombian government had announced something similar, but a high-ranking diplomatic official who spoke with CLIP and asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that Colombia continues to share its intelligence with its U.S. counterpart as usual, but did not specify for which operations. In response to these criticisms, the Southern Command sent to this journalistic alliance, stating: “U.S. forces operate under rules of engagement that are consistent with international maritime law against activities that pose a direct threat to U.S. security and the lives of U.S. citizens. As a military organization entrusted with the defense of our homeland, we are fully committed to missions that directly support the health and safety of the American people.” Last April, a coalition of 125 civil society organizations from around the world (including Airwars, which provided expert information to this journalistic alliance, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, among others) issued an urgent public appeal for countries to “immediately stop or refrain from supporting extrajudicial killings by the United States in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.” “We must remember that all these individuals have names, families, and lives that will never be the same,” said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s Human Rights Program, at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS (IACHR) on April 13. That organization, in addition to representing the two Trinidadian victims before a U.S. federal court, asked the IACHR to declare that missile strikes on vessels violate international law and proposed the creation of a special group to investigate the implications these strikes have had in the hemisphere. Why do they do it, then? It's difficult to understand why the Trump administration insists on continuing the bombings, despite their failure to stem the flow of drugs. Even Admiral Nathan Moore, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Atlantic Area, a proponent of using all methods, including bombings, acknowledged that they haven't seen any noticeable difference in the flow of cocaine. Moore stated, after 21 bombings in November 2025, that neither the traffickers' routes, nor the pace, nor the purity of the drug have changed. It's likely they succeeded in getting traffickers to stop using some routes, especially those used by go-fast boats—according to an analysis by InSight Crime, a media outlet specializing in organized crime—but the operation didn't "prevent traffickers from moving cocaine by other means," such as increasing their use of the Amazon route. Nor is it difficult for major drug traffickers to replace the dead with other men drawn into their networks by desperation, poverty, and unemployment, as these are plentiful along Latin American coasts. Attacking the weakest link in the multibillion-dollar drug trafficking business is nothing new. Our countries have been doing it without solving the problem for over 50 years. This new strategy of blowing up boats and killing unknown suspects takes this policy to the extreme. Missiles have caused tremendous suffering and plunge poor families and communities into even greater hardship, unable to defend themselves against the majestic U.S. military power or its omnipresent rhetoric. Furthermore, as discussed here, it alienates international cooperation and leaves the United States more isolated in the face of crime. Why then persist on such a risky and fruitless path for more than eight months? “The Trump administration believes in the show of force for reasons that have very little to do with effective interdiction,” says Walsh of WOLA. “They want to impress citizens, making them believe that they are finally putting an end to the terrible problem of drug trafficking, something other governments failed to do. The profound cruelty and callousness with which they order these systematic and intentional killings allows them to project the threatening nature of nameless ‘narco-terrorists.’ In this way, they shock many Americans while numbing the notion that the U.S. officials responsible for these killings must be held accountable.” The figure of President Trump and his top War and State officials, accompanying their bombings with explosive videos and triumphant social media posts, orchestrates a spectacle of disproportionate power against humble men, mostly poor, and in any case, only suspected of transporting drugs. As a Venezuelan woman, the wife of a man killed in a bombing, said, “Donald Trump didn’t stop to think; he’s killing a father and doesn’t know why this man got on that boat.” Do you have more information about this story? Write to us at investigaciones@elclip.org

“Reportan el fallecimiento del popular Pichirilo, gran talento deportivo Valdeciano. Nuestras palabras de condolencias a sus familiares”, publicó el 15 de octubre de 2025 @elshowderuben, una página de Facebook del programa del mismo nombre en la Emisora Radio Güiria Internacional de Venezuela. Su comentario tuvo 483 reacciones de emojis llorando, o de personas lamentando su muerte.  “Pichirilo no sabes cómo me duele tu noticia, nunca te voy a olvidar”, escribió una amiga. “Descansa en paz, Eduardo popular pichirilo”, “que en paz descanses pana pichirilo excelente deportista. Gran talento frente al arco.”, dijeron otros.  El día anterior, el 14 de octubre, un misil disparado por militares estadounidenses había volado una lancha fuera de la costa venezolana, frente a Güiria, un pueblo en el municipio de Valdés, del estado Sucre y  punto de salida hacia Trinidad y Tobago. Según se vio en el video oficial del gobierno estadounidense, la embarcación estaba quieta cuando la atacaron. Era el quinto golpe que propinaba Estados Unidos a barcos en el Caribe. Con las seis personas que cayeron ahí, completaban ya 27 muertos.   El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump  aseguró en su red social que su secretario de Guerra, Pete Hegseth, había dado la orden de asestar ese golpe en una ruta conocida de tráfico de drogas, en aguas internacionales, y que inteligencia de su país “confirmó que la lancha traficaba narcóticos” y estaba asociada a redes de narcoterroristas. El locutor radial del @showderuben le dijo a reporteros de esta alianza periodística que él publicó la noticia de Pichirilo porque sabía que era muy conocido en Güiria. “Este es un pueblo pequeño y aquí todo el mundo se conoce”, explicó, aunque negó saber nada acerca de las circunstancias en las que murió.  Reporteros de Alianza Rebelde Investiga (ARI) –una coalición de los medios independientes venezolanos Runrunes, Tal Cual y El Pitazo –, aliados a esta investigación, confirmaron en Güiria que el nombre de Pichirilo era Eduardo Jaime, y que era un jugador de fútbol de sala, querido en ese pueblo costero del Caribe venezolano. Una familiar le confirmó luego por teléfono a esta alianza que Eduardo Jaime venía en la lancha volada el 14 de octubre.  Desde septiembre de 2025 y hasta el 26 de abril pasado, en la llamada Operación Lanza del Sur (Southern Spear), las fuerzas militares de Estados Unidos llevaban 58 embarcaciones destruidas a golpes de misil y habían causado la muerte a 172 personas como Eduardo Jaime –según confirmó el Comando Sur de los Estados Unidos en respuesta por correo a las preguntas que envió este equipo periodístico.  Desde entonces, y hasta el 5 de mayo, cuando se cerró esta historia, el gobierno de ese país ha anunciado públicamente que realizó otros dos ataques donde mataron otras cinco personas.  Las autoridades estadounidenses además contabilizaron en total a otros 12 desaparecidos, que se presumen muertos. No obstante, esta alianza periodística verificó con fuentes en Costa Rica, que de tres presumidos sobrevivientes, luego de un bombardeo en marzo en el mar frente a ese país, dos fallecieron antes de llegar a tierra. Así, la cuenta de los muertos llega 179 hasta el 5 de mayo.  En su respuesta escrita, el Comando Sur de ese país dijo que “cada acción tomada durante la Operación Southern Spear (Lanza del Sur) es deliberada, legal y precisa, dirigida directamente contra los narcoterroristas y sus facilitadores. Tenemos plena confianza en los profesionales de operaciones e inteligencia que informan nuestras misiones”. (Ver toda la respuesta aquí) No obstante, días después del ataque en que murió Pichirilo, en ese mismo octubre, funcionarios del gobierno de Trump reconocieron en reportes a congresistas y sus asistentes que no sabían la identidad ni la historia de las personas que matan, según reveló The Intercept. “Es una tragedia doble no sólo por los asesinatos ilegales, sino que las víctimas son borradas, convertidas en anónimas”, dijo, en entrevista telefónica con el CLIP, John Walsh, de WOLA, una organización de defensa de los derechos humanos en Latinoamérica basada en Washington.  Coincidiendo con Walsh y muchos otros, entre expertos en derechos humanos, congresistas, ex funcionarios del gobierno estadounidense y organizaciones civiles, que han cuestionado la legalidad de matar a estos hombres por la sola sospecha de que podían estar transportando drogas, desde diciembre pasado, una alianza periodística transnacional se dio a la tarea de ponerles nombre a estos muertos, convencidos de que  al conocer sus rostros e historias, emergerá su humanidad.  La alianza, coordinada por el Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística, CLIP, que reúne a los medios de la región ARI de Venezuela; 360, Casa Macondo y Verdad Abierta de Colombia; Guardian de Trinidad Tobago; y periodistas freelance en República Dominicana, Ecuador, Costa Rica y México con el apoyo técnico y financiero de Airwars, hoy lanza los primeros hallazgos de la investigación Bombardeados, sin derecho a la defensa.  Esta investigación colaborativa ha sido una labor de filigrana, tejiendo hilos sueltos de muchas tragedias. Para ello, hemos visitado caseríos y pueblos costeros en La Guajira y Nariño, en Colombia y en Sucre, Venezuela; entrevistado a familiares, amigos y conocidos de víctimas, autoridades y reporteros locales en cinco países; rastreado y verificado cientos de posteos en redes sociales; identificado decenas de publicaciones de medios reconocidos en múltiples países e idiomas; realizado decenas de peticiones de información a autoridades; contactado fiscalías, hospitales, morgues y embajadas; y hemos verificado registros públicos y judiciales. Con toda esa información, construimos una base de datos que, esperamos, contribuya al elevar la consciencia de que estos hombres eran seres humanos, que merecían haber sido juzgados si eran sospechosos de cometer algún delito.  La mayoría de las fuentes son anónimas porque todo el mundo teme hablar. Algunos familiares de víctimas en Venezuela y en Santa Marta (Colombia), según confirmaron fuentes consultadas a esta alianza,  dicen haber recibido amenazas. Otros no quieren contar nada porque temen represalias de sus gobiernos o, peor, de los señores del narco que mandan en donde viven. Las entidades han resultado herméticas y los funcionarios que responden, sólo lo hacen off the record porque no quieren meter en líos a sus países con Estados Unidos. Sumando las personas que otros medios y organizaciones han conseguido nombrar y las nuevas víctimas mortales identificadas por esta alianza periodística, hemos podido conseguir los nombres y apellidos de 16 de los muertos en estos ataques. De dos más, identificamos su nacionalidad; y de otro, su apodo. De otras dos personas, cuyos restos fueron a dar a la playa al norte colombiano días después de un ataque, tenemos datos de quiénes eran, pero no sabemos con certeza si cayeron en un bombardeo. De otra posible víctima tenemos su nombre completo. Identificamos a tres sobrevivientes heridos. Es buscar agujas en un pajar de 179 ejecutados, desde el 2 de septiembre hasta el 5 de mayo, y seguimos contando… Cada explosión destroza al barco y a sus tripulantes, fuesen traficantes, pasajeros o pescadores, en mil pedazos. Sus identidades volaron al viento sobre océanos inmensos.  Esta colaboración periodística transfronteriza también encontró que la ola destructiva no para ahí. Como lo retratará la reportería en terreno, la Operación Southern Spear ha deshilachado además el tejido de comunidades, de por sí rotas y doblegadas por el crimen organizado y la ausencia de Estado, y ha aterrorizado a pescadores y viajantes, al punto que paró la economía de un pueblo nariñense. También verificamos que en el Caribe colombiano perturbó al menos 18 vuelos comerciales. Más allá, documentamos cómo ha fragmentado la cooperación internacional de combate a las drogas ilegales, porque otras democracias temen estar involucrados en acciones que desconozcan acuerdos internacionales que rigen el mar y el derecho internacional sobre los derechos humanos. Reverbera con la onda explosiva el temor entre funcionarios y fiscalías de revelar detalles de los rescates o sus coordenadas, pues el vecino del Norte puede revirar con nuevos aranceles o ataques personales a los gobernantes. Muchas veces, ni siquiera les responden a quienes están preguntando por sus muertos.  Los bombardeados En el mismo bote de ‘Pichirilo’, el jugador de fútbol, viajaban Chad Joseph y Rishi Samaroo, dos trinitenses, cuyas parientes ahora reclaman al gobierno estadounidense por sus ejecuciones extrajudiciales. De Chad y Samaroo se enteró el mundo porque sus familias presentaron una queja legal en enero pasado ante una corte federal de Massachusetts, Estados Unidos, buscando ser indemnizadas por daños y perjuicios por sus muertes.  Según reportó el Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, miembro de esta alianza, en diciembre pasado, en el pueblo donde nació Joseph –quien tenía 26 años al momento del  bombardeo del 14 de octubre – todos lo conocían desde niño como pescador. Se había ido desde su natal Matelot, un pueblo pesquero en la costa trinitense, a vivir a donde una tía en Las Cuevas, una comunidad con lazos de toda la vida con Venezuela.  “Fue la familia de Joseph, al ser una de las primeras en identificarlo entre más de 100 personas que han perdido su vida en los ataques, la que arrojó una luz humana sobre las personas que han muerto como resultado de los ataques de los Estados Unidos en el mar Caribe. Las historias humanas hicieron que congresistas comenzaran a ponerle presión al gobierno de Trump al pedir transparencia sobre estos ataques y al intentar cuestionarlos y detenerlos”, escribió el Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, al cumplirse dos meses de su presunta muerte.  Ese mismo medio entrevistó a Lenore Burnley, madre de Chad, quien dijo que “desde que supo la noticia, su vida se ha caracterizado por la tormenta contradictoria de tener una vaga esperanza y la cruda realidad de la súbita muerte de Joseph, sin que haya un cuerpo para enterrar”.  Y cuando Guardian le preguntó por qué creía que Joseph se había arriesgado a salir, ella respondió: “sé de la ley del mar; la conozco desde que era joven. Si es un barco, o una cosa así, se supone que tienes que detenerlo, ¿ves? La ley no consiste en matar a personas. Donde sea que estés, no debes matar a personas así. Esta es la primera vez en mi vida, y tengo 51 años. Nunca he escuchado de algo así”. Dijo el citado diario local que, según la la pareja de Chad Joseph, él la había llamado para decirle que iba de regreso a casa desde Venezuela.  Sallycar Korasingh, la hermana de Rishi Samaroo, había contado que él era un hombre trabajador que había pagado su deuda con la sociedad y solo intentaba recuperarse y ganarse la vida dignamente en Venezuela criando vacas y cabras para ayudar a mantener a su familia, según informó ACLU en un comunicado . “Si el gobierno de Estados Unidos creía que Rishi había hecho algo malo, debería haberlo arrestado, acusado y detenido, no asesinado. Deben rendir cuentas”, dijo Korasingh. Representan a la madre de Joseph y a la hermana de Samaroo en su caso ante la justicia estadounidense, la Asociación Americana de Derechos Civiles (más conocida como ACLU, por su sigla en inglés) , el Centro para los Derechos Constitucionales y el profesor Jonathan Hafetz, de la Escuela de Derecho Setton Hall.   Los abogados lo presentaron bajo la ley de demandas del almirantazgo, que les permite a personas reclamar compensación por daños a quien haya cometido una muerte por negligencia (wrongful death, en inglés), según el Acta de Muerte en Altamar (DOHSA), reconocida por Estados Unidos. Así mismo, invocaron el viejo Estatuto de Reclamación de Agravios Contra Extranjeros (Alien Torts Statute) que permite a los extranjeros reclamar en Estados Unidos por ejecuciones extrajudiciales, prohibidos en las leyes internacionales de Derechos Humanos.  “Las muertes de Joseph y Samaroo fueron claramente ejecuciones extrajudiciales”, explicó a esta alianza periodística Steven Watt, uno de los abogados de ACLU. No se pueden justificar con argumentos como los esgrimidos por el gobierno Trump, de que estar en guerra contra las drogas les justifica el uso de los ataques violentos, dijo.  Watt dijo además que su equipo legal, en una demanda independiente de ésta, basada en el Acta de Libertad de Información (FOIA por su sigla en inglés), pidió el memorando legal producido por la Oficina de Consejería Legal de del Departamento de Justicia, que expone la racionalidad jurídica oficial de estos ataques, porque el gobierno no la ha hecho público hasta ahora.  Las parientes de los trinitenses aseguran que ninguno de los dos llevaba drogas, que eran ciudadanos corrientes que estaban regresando a sus casas en Las Cuevas, en Trinidad, después de trabajar en Venezuela.   Según dijeron fuentes locales a ARI, la coalición periodística de medios venezolanos aliada de esta investigación, un hombre llamado Dushak Milovcic habría viajado en ese mismo barco atacado el 14 de octubre. Un reporte de la AP, informó que Milovcic, de 24 años, “comenzó como vigía para contrabandistas”, había estado en la Academia de la Guardia Nacional de Venezuela y, según dijeron fuentes a la reportera de esa agencia, ahora estaba involucrado con los transportadores de droga.  El del 14 de octubre no fue el único barco del que se sospecha no llevaba drogas ilegales por el alto número de pasajeros que transportaba. Varios medios de prensa y observadores también expresaron su duda frente al primer barco bombardeado el 2 de septiembre de 2025, en el que iban 11 pasajeros. Según algunos entrevistados en terreno, que conocen el movimiento de las lanchas y hablaron con aliados de esta investigación en La Guajira colombiana y en Sucre, es frecuente que las mismas embarcaciones que de ida llevan droga, de vuelta traigan pasajeros. Los “capitanes”, como se les dice a quienes pilotean esos barcos, se apuntan a cualquier trabajo que salga.  Realización: Vera Ferrari “A todos los narcoterroristas que amenazan nuestra patria: si quieren seguir vivos, paren de traficar drogas. Si siguen traficando drogas letales, los vamos a matar”, amenazó  Pete Hegseth, secretario de Guerra de Estados Unidos el 7 de noviembre, al otro día de un golpe mortal a una lancha con tres ocupantes en el Caribe, frente a las costas colombianas.  Por calificativos como estos, cualquiera imagina que acaban de matar a múltiples Pablos Escobares y Chapos Guzmanes.  Los reporteros de esta alianza encontraron una realidad muy distinta.  Restos de dos personas, presumiblemente caídos ese 6 de noviembre, aparecieron en Puerto López, Uribia, en La Guajira colombiana. Distintas fuentes guajiras dijeron que eran dos hombres provenientes de Pedernales, República Dominicana, una provincia fronteriza con Haití, en la región de Enriquillo, con 72% de los hogares en pobreza. Un reportero dominicano le confirmó a esta alianza que desde allí salen decenas de jóvenes a rebuscarse la vida en Colombia o en otros lados, y muchos son enganchados para traer cocaína desde las costas colombianas en el Caribe de vuelta a la isla, en viajes en lancha.  Como nadie venía a reclamar los cadáveres que llegaron a la playa colombiana, porque allí no tenían parientes, la comunidad indígena wayúu que habita en esa región los enterró, según reportó en su momento The New York Times. Un mes después, llegaron los técnicos forenses del Instituto de Medicina Legal colombiano y los exhumaron.  Según verificó el medio colombiano 360-grados.co, aliado de esta colaboración periodística, eso ocurrió entre el 12 y 13 de diciembre y, hasta el cierre de esta edición, permanecen refrigerados en Medicina Legal de Barranquilla. Fuentes de la Fiscalía colombiana indicaron que uno de los cadáveres desenterrados en La Guajira probablemente no provenía de las embarcaciones atacadas, dado su estado de descomposición.  Fuentes locales afirmaron saber que los restos del cuerpo de otro dominicano caído en la embarcación del 6 de noviembre no se encontraron en Colombia. El cuerpo había sido arrastrado más allá de Castilletes, unos 20 kilómetros tierra adentro en territorio venezolano, donde se cree que miembros de la comunidad wayúu lo enterraron. No pudimos confirmar esta versión.  (Ver “Las víctimas del Comando Sur a las que les echaron tierra en La Guajira”).  Esos jóvenes dominicanos no son muy distintos a los de Uribia, en La Guajira colombiana, la región a donde fueron a buscar trabajo. Este último es el municipio más pobre de Colombia: el 92% no tiene educación, ni salud, ni servicios públicos. Por ello es fácil engancharlos para acarrear cocaína y les pagan, según declaró un lanchero con el que habló el medio 360.   “La mayoría de la gente acá no son dueños, la mayoría de los dueños de la mercancía siempre son de afuera, podemos decir hasta internacionalmente: que compran la mercancía acá [en Colombia] y ellos mismos la esperan en su destino“, explicó el lanchero a esta alianza periodística.  Por ese agujero de la esperanza de hacerse una vida mejor han caído decenas de dominicanos y muchos han desaparecido. Ahora la incertidumbre es peor para sus parientes porque no saben si fueron volados por los misiles estadounidenses. Es lo que teme una mujer dominicana, con quien habló esta alianza, pero que prefiere no dar su nombre. Ella no sabe nada de su hermano Francisco –quien hacía diversos oficios en el sector turístico y había aceptado llevar una carga de drogas– desde que la llamó desde una lancha a punto de zarpar rumbo a casa. Fue a mediados de noviembre pasado y estaba usando un teléfono satelital. Fue una charla corta. Él preguntó por sus padres y le anunció su regreso. Nunca volvió.  Los bombardeos además han llevado a muchas víctimas a no denunciar las desapariciones. ¿La razón? Según el periodista dominicano Manuel González Feliz, es una mezcla de miedo y vergüenza entre los familiares.  Como en Pedernales o en La Guajira colombiana, para muchas comunidades de la costa Pacífica colombiana, el trabajo de transportar cocaína no es una elección criminal, sino una estrategia de supervivencia. El aislamiento de esta región de selvas y manglares que se extiende 1.300 kilómetros de norte a sur del país influye en que sea tan pobre. En Tumaco, el segundo puerto colombiano sobre el Pacífico, de donde salen muchos de los transportadores, un 84% de sus habitantes vive en la pobreza multidimensional. Y los grupos de narcotráfico se aprovechan ofreciendo trabajo en laboratorios, astilleros de embarcaciones y como transportistas. “Es la única fuente de empleo que mueve estas comunidades. Sé que es ilegal, pero es lo que hay”, explica Duván Caicedo, líder comunitario del pequeño poblado de Pital de Costa, situado entre un río y la selva en el Pacífico colombiano. Los 1.200 habitantes del caserío viven sin agua potable y sin puesto de salud, a dos horas en lancha desde Tumaco y desde el hospital más cercano. Un laboratorio de procesamiento de cocaína es la única fuente de trabajo. En Sucre, el estado de Venezuela donde queda Güiria, el 90 % de la gente no tiene segura su alimentación.  Según reporteó ARI, casi nadie se dedica exclusivamente a hacer viajes que lleven cocaína. Esas lanchas mueven la vida cotidiana de la gente en esa costa: traen y llevan comida, pescado, medicinas. En ellas viajan trabajadores de Venezuela a Trinidad y de regreso, o pescadores que salen a traer la pesca del día, migrantes que huyen del autoritarismo y también traficantes. (Ver historia Todas las”vueltas” en Güiria). Cuando cargan drogas, generalmente van dos o máximo tres personas, un conductor y dos ayudantes. Esta investigación revela que las víctimas de los bombardeos estadounidenses provenientes de Güiria se dedicaban a la pesca, a conducir mototaxi, a manejar bus, y  algunos de ellos se habían arriesgado a hacer un viaje con cocaína porque no podían sostener a sus familias. Así, Juan Carlos Fuentes, 43 años, chofer de “toda la vida”, y Luis Ramón Amundaraín, pescador y mototaxista, 36 años, estaban en Trinidad y Tobago desde el 28 de septiembre de 2025. Juan Carlos, dice su esposa, estaba desesperado por falta de dinero. Se le dañó un bus Yutong del que vivía y no lo pudo reparar.  Él la llamó desde Trinidad la víspera del bombardeo del 3 de octubre en que presumiblemente cayó y le dijo que estaba por salir; que no llevaba droga.  Ramón, dice su compañera, “se fue para buscar más ingresos” porque la ganancia de la pesca y los traslados en moto habían dejado de ser suficientes para su familia de siete. Ella contó a los reporteros de ARI que su esposo se dedicaba a la pesca. “Dicen que él es un narcoterrorista”, dijo, pero asegura que si lo fuera tendrían bienes, y ni siquiera tienen casa propia. Su familia cree que él murió con Juan Carlos el 3 de octubre.   Tiene sentido lo que dicen las mujeres, porque sus maridos venían de Trinidad y Tobago hacia Venezuela y las drogas fluyen en sentido contrario. Otro más, Eduard Hidalgo, de 46 años, había sido ducho pescador y se había ido a finales de 2024 a Estados Unidos. Lo deportaron un año después. Sostiene una amiga que si bien había transportado diversas mercancías para los jefes criminales de la zona, no quería hacer más viajes, “pero lo obligaron”.  Ella cree que cayó en el bombardeo de una lancha el 23 de febrero pasado.  (Ver historia “Los explotaron los gringos”: Cómo tres venezolanos terminaron en las lanchas atacadas por Estados Unidos) Miedo y hambre No sólo las familias de los muertos hoy los lloran.  La ondas expansivas también impactan a las comunidades. Por ejemplo, durante algunos días, pescadores de la zona rural de Buenaventura, el principal puerto colombiano sobre el Pacífico, suspendieron sus faenas por el temor de no regresar a sus hogares, aunque luego las retomaron paulatinamente.  El municipio de Olaya Herrera, en Nariño, salió más afectado. Una persona que trabaja en el sector humanitario de la región y pidió anonimato, le dijo a esta alianza que allí muchos viven del dinero que recogen los transportistas al completar un viaje. “Cuando regresan, entra plata a la comunidad, el comercio se mueve y todos se benefician”, dijo. Con el miedo a hacer viajes transportando drogas no volvió a ingresar dinero a las familias.  “Estamos viviendo una situación muy pesada”, dice el párroco Luis Carrillo. “Se empezó a sentir desde noviembre, pero se volvió crítica en febrero”. En coordinación con la Alcaldía, el sacerdote solicitó ayuda al Banco de Alimentos en Bogotá y en marzo llegaron en barco desde Buenaventura 700 canastas con alimentos que se repartieron en la cabecera municipal de Bocas de Satinga y la zona rural. “Obviamente eso no mitiga ni el uno por ciento de las necesidades”, dice el párroco. ¿Quién investiga? Las autoridades de ningún país, desde Estados Unidos hasta Colombia o México, revelan cuánta droga se hundió, ni cuantos de los caídos en bombardeos la transportaban, ni sus nombres. Ni siquiera han informado cómo recogieron la información de inteligencia que los llevó a señalar a esas víctimas como objetivo militar.   Esta alianza periodística envió un cuestionario con estas y otras preguntas al Comando Sur de los Estados Unidos. Este respondió que “por razones de seguridad operativa y protección de las fuerzas, no discutimos inteligencia ni detalles sobre nuestros procesos y planificación operativos”. También dijo su vocero que “no se puede ignorar la amenaza que los narcoterroristas y los cárteles representan para la vida humana. Han intensificado su violencia hasta niveles sin precedentes, yendo más allá de la mera conducta criminal al cometer actos de terror indescriptibles. No son solo sus rivales criminales quienes están en su mira; están librando una guerra contra ciudadanos respetuosos de la ley, comunidades enteras e instituciones gubernamentales, llevando a cabo actos atroces para imponer su voluntad y satisfacer su insaciable ansia de ingresos ilícitos”. Fuentes de la embajada de República Dominicana en Colombia confirmaron a este equipo periodístico que la única información recibida sobre la posible muerte de dos de sus connacionales proviene de una alocución del presidente colombiano Gustavo Petro; sin embargo, no se han iniciado gestiones oficiales para su identificación. Calificaron el asunto como “políticamente sensible”. En Ecuador, el Servicio de Guardacostas de la Armada no ha revelado ningún detalle sobre las operaciones de rescate de posibles sobrevivientes que —según dijo EE. UU— inició tras un bombardeo en el Pacífico el 9 de febrero de 2026, según confirmó un reportero que apoya esta investigación en ese país. En el Pacífico costarricense, las autoridades rescataron dos muertos y un sobreviviente. Los dos fallecidos eran ecuatorianos. Reporteros de esta alianza pudieron confirmar con fuentes de seguridad en Ecuador que uno de ellos, Pedro Ramón Holguín Holguín, tenía un negocio minorista de venta de pescado en Manta, una ciudad costera que es hoy centro de la actividad narcotraficante en el país.  Lograron establecer, además, que la embajada de Ecuador en Costa Rica ayudó con la identificación de los restos, pero sus cuerpos, a la fecha, siguen en una morgue en San José, la capital costarricense.  Casa Macondo, un aliado de esta investigación en Colombia, envió peticiones de información a diversas autoridades. La DIMAR, la autoridad marítima colombiana, aseguró que nadie le reportó que hubo bombardeos en sus aguas territoriales. La Cancillería convocó en noviembre pasado a  una reunión con el Ministerio de Defensa, la Armada y la Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia. El resultado fue que todas las entidades dijeron no tener información oficial más allá de los medios de comunicación. La conclusión escrita, firmada por el Director de Soberanía Territorial Javier Pava Sánchez, fue que “nuestra soberanía no ha sido vulnerada”. Trece días después de esa reunión, el embajador colombiano ante la OEA intervino en el Consejo Permanente para denunciar esos mismos ataques como violaciones al derecho internacional. El 23 de diciembre, Colombia repitió la denuncia en una reunión de emergencia del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU.  El mismo presidente de Colombia, Gustavo Petro, dijo públicamente que había visitado la casa de un pescador bombardeado el 15 de septiembre, Alejandro Andrés Carranza, en Santa Marta, y había visto que vivía en la pobreza. Denunció estos ataques como ejecuciones extrajudiciales. Además, facilitó una reunión de un abogado estadounidense con los familiares de Carranza para que estos consideraran demandar por daños sufridos, según contó el abogado en cuestión, Daniel Kovalik, a reporteros de esta alianza. Finalmente, Kovalik presentó una denuncia ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de la OEA, argumentando que la de Carranza fue una ejecución extrajudicial y que por ello Estados Unidos violó la Declaración Americana de los Derechos y Deberes del Hombre.  Los ataques verbales entre los presidentes Trump y Petro, que venían escalando de tiempo atrás, se tornaron álgidos luego de esta declaraciones.  Finalmente, el presidente Petro se reunió con Trump en la Casa Blanca, y las denuncias se acallaron. Fuentes de Cancillería colombiana ahora aseguran que el tema es tan sensible que no lo mencionan, ni dan información al respecto.  Uno de los pedidos de información de Casa Macondo sí fructificó y reveló un efecto de estos bombardeos que había pasado desapercibido: que coincidiendo con los ataques desde el cielo a los botes bajo sospecha, subió el número de disrupciones a  vuelos comerciales en Colombia en 2025. Con información de la Aerocivil (la autoridad colombiana de aviación civil), Casa Macondo estableció que entre enero y julio de 2025 se habían reportado mensualmente entre cuatro y cinco incidentes involucrando a los GPS de los aviones comerciales, un nivel dentro de los rangos esperados para cualquier espacio aéreo. Pero desde agosto, coincidiendo con la víspera del inicio de la campaña de bombardeos, los reportes se multiplicaron por cinco. En el año contabilizó un total de 251 reportes de fallas de GPS y las clasificó como ajenas a sus sistemas. Cerró el expediente sin investigar qué las causaba.  Aerocivil informó que durante 18 vuelos comerciales que volaban en el Caribe norte, los pilotos dieron cuenta de fallas en los GPS de los aviones, al cruzar AMBAS –como se le llama a una coordenada de navegación aérea sobre el mar Caribe, al norte de Colombia, donde convergen las rutas que conectan Bogotá y Medellín con Miami, Nueva York, Santo Domingo y Curazao. La señal permanecía perdida entre ocho minutos y una hora —mientras los aviones cruzaban a alturas de entre 30.000 y 40.000 pies, es decir, entre nueve y doce kilómetros de altura—, y se recuperaba al salir del espacio aéreo colombiano. El GPS siempre se apagó en el mismo lugar. Siempre se volvió a encender cuando el avión se alejó. En uno de los casos reportados por Aerocivil,  a un piloto le fallaron los GPS y luego por otra falla, el transponder —el dispositivo que le dice al radar en tierra dónde está el avión— dejó de transmitir y en la cabina, se encendieron las alarmas del sistema antichoque, como si el suelo estuviera cerca, cuando en realidad iba a miles de pies de altura.  El piloto de la aeronave, que habló con esta alianza periodística pidiendo reserva del nombre, aseguró que se asustó porque nunca le había pasado, pero que los aviones tienen al menos tres sistemas redundantes de navegación, y siempre hay alternativa cuando uno se apaga. “No hubo peligro para los pasajeros”, dijo.  Al suministrar estos registros, la autoridad aérea reconoció que estos episodios constituyen una “afectación a la navegación aérea civil” y los clasificó oficialmente bajo su protocolo de “identificación de peligros” para la seguridad del espacio aéreo. (Ver Historia Aviones comerciales volaron con interferencias coincidentes con los bombardeos de EE.UU a las lanchas) Ataques que socavan la lucha contra el narco Los golpes de misil pueden ser más espectaculares y violentos que la silenciosa interceptación e incautación regular que el presidente Trump venía denigrando como inútil, pero no por ello, más eficaz. Así, mientras Trump celebraba su primer bombazo del 2 de septiembre a la lancha con 11 tripulantes, como un ataque contra terroristas del Tren de Aragua “identificados con certeza” y aseguraba que llevaba “cantidades masivas de drogas”, el vicepresidente aseguró que era el mejor uso y más elevado uso de sus fuerza armadas. El secretario de Estado Marco Rubio, haciendo eco de esta declaraciones el día siguiente, aseguró que interceptar a las lanchas que llevan drogas no había funcionado. “En lugar de interceptarlas, las volamos, siguiendo la orden del Presidente. Y va a pasar de nuevo”, dijo.   Lo que no contaron los dirigentes del gobierno estadounidense es que ese mismo 2 de septiembre ocurrió la Operación Zeus, que sin embargo, no lanzó rayos desde el cielo, como la del bombazo a los 11 tripulantes. En esta Operación Zeus, la Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana había detectado una embarcación sospechosa en las mismas aguas del Caribe, y compartió las coordenadas con la Fuerza Aérea dominicana.  Esta última, con la coordinación de la  Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Interinstitucional del Sur de Estados Unidos (JIATF-S por su sigla en inglés), en la Base Naval Aérea de Key West en Florida, envió a unidades de su armada a interceptarla. Abordaron la embarcación, apresaron a sus dos tripulantes e incautaron 448 kilos de cocaína, entregaron evidencia a un proceso penal y no hubo un solo muerto.  No fue la única. Una investigación del CLIP siguió las interdicciones regulares de lucha antinarcóticos en el Caribe y en el Pacífico que realizaron entidades estadounidenses en cooperación con países europeos y latinoamericanos, entre septiembre de 2025 y febrero de 2026, basándose en informaciones de las fuerzas del orden y de prensa en varios idiomas y países, y consultó con los registros públicos disponibles en la API v3 de Global Fishing Watch y Vesseltracker. Encontró que gracias a esta cooperación internacional, pudieron decomisar, sin disparar un solo tiro mortal, al menos 140 toneladas de cocaína y detener a 160 tripulantes que luego fueron entregados a la justicia. Este rastreo estableció que, coincidiendo con la operación de bombardeos a lanchas, el remolcador Little Girls con bandera de Tasmania, el pesquero griego Ourania A y, el viejo buque de propiedad turca United S, pasaron por el Atlántico cargados de drogas. Ninguno fue volado con misiles. Esperaron a que llegaran a un lugar seguro para inmovilizarlos, incautar la droga que llevaban y detener a sus tripulantes. Es más, la operación contra el Ourania A llevó al arresto de un conocido narco griego.  Las operaciones antinarcóticos regulares y los ataques letales se ejecutaron en las mismas aguas, en las mismas semanas, con coordinación de inteligencia que en varios casos pasaba por los mismos nodos institucionales: el MAOC-N de Lisboa, la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Interagencial Sur (JITF-S) de Key West y la DEA. (Ver historia Para los grandes cargamentos, justicia; para los pequeños, bombas). ¿Quién toma las decisiones? ¿Quién ordenó a cuál embarcación volar y a cuál dejar pasar para luego detenerlo civilizadamente? Eso le preguntamos al Comando Sur.  No respondió la pregunta, sino que envió el siguiente comentario: “La Operación Southern Spear se lleva a cabo bajo las órdenes de nuestro Comandante en Jefe para defender el territorio nacional de los Estados Unidos, proteger a los socios regionales y mantener la ley y el orden, impidiendo que los narcoterroristas, los cárteles y su red de cómplices se afiancen en el Hemisferio Occidental mediante una presencia abrumadora. El objetivo de la operación es detectar, desarticular y desmantelar las redes de los cárteles y otras organizaciones transnacionales que el presidente de los Estados Unidos, mediante una orden ejecutiva, ha designado como organizaciones terroristas”. Expertos jurídicos ya han planteado sus inquietudes sobre el significado del término “narco-terrorista”, pero Brian Finucane, asesor principal del Programa de Estados Unidos del International Crisis Group y exabogado de la Oficina del Asesor Jurídico del Departamento de Estado de EE. UU., declaró a esta alianza que los comentarios del ejército estadounidense en respuesta a este reportaje llevan esas inquietudes un paso más allá. “El derecho de la guerra permite la violencia que de otro modo estaría prohibida, pero solo durante un conflicto armado genuino —un umbral que la administración Trump no ha logrado alcanzar, ya que ni siquiera ha identificado contra quién se supone que Estados Unidos está luchando”, dijo. “Más allá de ese problema fundamental, la sugerencia de la administración de que los ‘facilitadores’, vagamente definidos, pueden ser blanco de ataques, suscita aún más inquietudes de que esté violando las reglas de su propio paradigma legal falso”. Mientras la cooperación internacional para la lucha anti-narcóticos se desarrollaba con normalidad y sin dejar muertos en estos seis meses de septiembre a febrero, los múltiples ataques que realizó el gobierno estadounidense dejaron 140 muertos, sin una cantidad de cocaína públicamente incautada y pulverizando las pruebas judiciales que podrían llevar a encontrar a los grandes narcos dueños de las rutas.  De hecho, la Fiscalía de Colombia solo abrió una indagación preliminar en contra del sobreviviente Jonathan Obando Pérez,  según El País América, “pero no prevé convertirla en una investigación formal, pues no tiene elementos para señalar que Obando Pérez haya cometido algún delito en Colombia”. Por eso luego de salir del hospital, quedó en libertad. Una fuente citada por AP de la Fiscalía ecuatoriana también aseguró que “no encontró pruebas suficientes para emprender acciones legales” en contra de Andrés Fernando Tufiño, sobreviviente de un ataque en el Caribe el 16 de octubre.  Por las posibles violaciones a los derechos humanos y al derecho del mar, las autoridades de Reino Unido y Canadá dijeron que no compartirían inteligencia con sus pares de Estados Unidos, según reportó Time. Las fuentes británicas le dijeron en noviembre pasado a esas revista que “los oficiales británicos creen que los golpes militares de Estados Unidos que han matado 76 personas violan la ley internacional” y por ello, suspendieron la cooperación para este tipo de ataques desde octubre. Y fuentes canadienses dijeron que su gobierno “no quiere que su inteligencia ayude a localizar como objetivos a barcos para dar golpes mortales”.  En enero pasado, el ministro de Defensa holandés dijo en Aruba que continuarán las labores de interdicción en la aguas territoriales de su país pero no usarán su barco-estación naval para operaciones relacionadas con la operación Southern Spear (la de los bombardeos) de los Estados Unidos.  “Ningún país europeo, incluida Francia, enviará inteligencia operacional a los americanos en la situación actual si esta se puede usar como base para un ataque militar a un barco”, dijo Dimitro Zoulas, jefe del servicio antidrogas de la policía francesa a Radio Caraibes (RCI). Y Euractiv confirmó con una fuente francesa de seguridad que “es 100 por ciento claro que los europeos no les están dando ninguna inteligencia a Estados Unidos que puede llevar a un golpe (contra los barcos)”.  El gobierno de Colombia había anunciado algo similar, pero un alto funcionario diplomático que habló con CLIP y pidió no revelar su nombre por la sensibilidad del tema, dijo que hoy éste sigue compartiendo normalmente su inteligencia con su par de Estados Unidos, pero no precisó para cuáles operaciones.   A estas críticas, en la respuesta enviada a esta alianza periodística, el Comando Sur respondió: “las fuerzas estadounidenses operan bajo reglas de combate que son consistentes con el derecho marítimo internacional contra actividades que representan una amenaza directa para la seguridad de EE. UU. y la vida de los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Como organización militar a la que se le ha confiado la defensa de nuestra patria, estamos plenamente comprometidos con misiones que apoyan directamente la salud y la seguridad del pueblo estadounidense”. En abril pasado, una coalición de 125 organizaciones civiles de todo el mundo (incluida Airwars, que apoyó con información experta a esta alianza periodística, Human Rights Watch y Amnistía Internacional, entre otras), hizo una petición pública urgente para que los países “inmediatamente dejen o se abstengan de apoyar las ejecuciones extrajudiciales de Estados Unidos en el mar Caribe y el océano Pacífico”. “Debemos recordar que todos estos individuos tienen nombres, familias y vidas que nunca serán iguales”, dijo Jamil Dakwar, director del Programa de Derechos Humanos de ACLU en una audiencia ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de la OEA (CIDH), el pasado 13 de abril.  Esa organización, además de representar a las dos víctimas trinitenses ante una corte federal estadounidense, pidió a la CIDH declarar que los golpes de misil a las embarcaciones violan el derecho internacional y propuso la creación de un grupo especial que investigue las implicaciones que estos han tenido en el hemisferio.  ¿Por qué lo hacen, entonces? Es difícil entender por qué el gobierno Trump se empeña en continuar los bombardeos, a pesar de que no frenan el flujo de drogas.  Incluso, el almirante Nathan Moore, comandante del Guardacostas de Área Atlántica de Estados Unidos, defensor de usar todos los métodos, incluidos los bombardeos, reconoció que no han visto ninguna diferencia notable en el flujo de cocaína. Moore dijo,  después de 21 bombardeos en noviembre de 2025, que no han cambiado ni las rutas de los traficantes, ni el ritmo, ni la pureza de la droga.   Es probable que hayan conseguido que los traficantes dejen de usar algunas rutas, sobre todo aquellas por donde se mueven las lanchas go-fast –de acuerdo con un análisis de InSight Crime, un medio especializado en el crimen organizado—pero la operación no “evitó que los traficantes movieran la cocaína por otros medios”, como apelar más a la ruta por la Amazonía.  Tampoco es difícil para los grandes narcos reemplazar a los muertos por otros hombres empujados a sus redes por la desesperación, la pobreza y el desempleo, pues éstos abundan en las costas latinoamericanas. Atacar al eslabón más débil del multimillonario negocio del narcotráfico no es nuevo. Lo vienen haciendo nuestros países sin resolver el problema desde hace más de 50 años. Esta nueva estrategia de explotar lanchas y matar sospechosos desconocidos lleva esta política al extremo. Los misiles han causado un tremendo dolor y hunden en peores carencias a familias y pueblos pobres que no se pueden defender del majestuoso poder militar estadounidense, ni de su omnipresente retórica.  Además, como se contó aquí, aliena la cooperación internacional y deja más solitario a Estados Unidos frente al crimen.  ¿Por qué entonces persistir en un camino tan riesgoso y estéril por más de ocho meses? “En el gobierno Trump creen en el espectáculo de fuerza por razones que tienen muy poco que ver con interdicción efectiva”, dice Walsh de WOLA. “Quieren impresionar a los ciudadanos, haciéndoles creer que ellos sí que le están poniendo fin al problema terrible del narcotráfico, lo que otros gobiernos no lograron. La profunda crueldad y despreocupación con que ordenan estos asesinatos sistemáticos e intencionales les permite proyectar la naturaleza amenazante de ‘narcoterroristas’ sin nombre. De esta manera asombran a muchos estadounidenses, mientras anestesian la noción de que los funcionarios de Estados Unidos responsables de estos asesinatos deben rendir cuentas ”. La figura del presidente Trump y sus más altos funcionarios de Guerra y Estado, acompañando sus bombardeos con videos explosivos y  triunfales comentarios en redes sociales, orquestan un espectáculo de poder desproporcionado frente a hombres humildes, en su mayoría pobres, y en todo caso, sólo sospechosos de estar transportando drogas.  Como dijo una venezolana esposa de un hombre caído en un bombardeo, “Donald Trump no se puso a pensar; está matando a un padre de familia y no sabe por qué este hombre se montó en ese bote”. ¿Tienes más información sobre esta historia? Escríbenos a investigaciones@elclip.org

March 13, 2026, marks exactly one month since the turquoise waters of the Grenadines were transformed into a theater of high-altitude execution by the Trump Regime. For Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), this milestone is a grim ledger of national accountability and a testament to the erosion of regional security and national leadership. In the four weeks since the Trump regime’s military drone strike, the Caribbean maritime landscape has shifted from a shared resource to a contested battleground, where the price of sovereignty is increasingly measured in silence.The core facts, though obscured by military jargon, are devastating. On February 13, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), operating under the “Joint Task Force Southern Spear,” conducted what it termed a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel transiting the economic zone of St Vincent. The operation, directed by General Francis L. Donovan, resulted in the deaths of three individuals. In the days following, charred wreckage surfaced and the physical reality of the strike was captured by local fishermen: the bow of the boat remained visible, while the engine and the bulk of the hull lay submerged, a skeletal reminder of a foreign missile’s precision.The central tension of this tragedy lies in a brutal juxtaposition of narratives. Washington has categorised the deceased as “narco-terrorists,” a designation supported by the staggering alleged $500 million worth of cocaine that washed ashore and was subsequently seized by Vincentian authorities. However, in Castries, the narrative is one of local grief. Reports persist that the three men were Saint Lucian fishermen who left port on February 9 and never returned. This collision between the reality of half a billion dollars in narcotics and the claims of humble maritime livelihoods has plunged the region into a legal and humanitarian crisis.In the architecture of modern maritime interdiction, labels like “narco-terrorist” serve as more than descriptors, they are bypasses for due process. By stripping individuals of their civilian status before a single piece of evidence is presented in court, the U.S. military effectively places sovereignty on the auction block.The disparity between the U.S. military’s classification and the ground truth in the Windward Islands remains a raw wound. While SOUTHCOM celebrated the neutralization of “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” Saint Lucian Prime Minister Phillip J. Pierre was left to manage the fallout of three empty chairs in fishing villages.“I can confirm that people lost their lives and to the circumstances I have got no official notification on the circumstances surrounding their deaths,” Prime Minister Pierre stated, confirming that his administration is forced to seek answers through diplomatic backchannels for deaths occurring in what should be a transparent regional security framework.St Vincent Opposition Leader and attorney Ralph Gonsalves has emerged as the most vocal critic of this “Dunroe Doctrine” a political ideology he frames as an extralegal expansion of U.S. power. Gonsalves’ legal arguments against these summary executions include:The Illegality of Death at Sea: Drug trafficking does not carry the death penalty in U.S. or Caribbean law; therefore, penalties must be administered by a court, not a missile.The Species of Barbarism: He characterises the summary execution of suspects at sea as a “species of barbarism” that contradicts the very American jurisprudence and international laws Washington claims to uphold.Presumption of Innocence: Gonsalves maintains that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, insisting that law enforcement must involve detention and prosecution, not acting as “judge, jury, and executioner.”Chilling Effects on Livelihoods: He warns that the lack of clear evidence in these strikes creates a terror-filled environment for legitimate mariners.Gonsalves push for accountability highlights the vacuum left by the official response or lack thereof from the government in Kingstown.Necessity dictates a vocal, assertive response to ensure that your borders are not treated as a superpower’s firing range. Yet, the government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has adopted a posture of minimalist caution, a failure to protect its own information space that has left the narrative entirely in the hands of the U.S. military.While Gonsalves has condemned the “silence” of the administration, the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) has issued press releases that can only be described as anemic. Deferring entirely to the SOUTHCOM, the RSVGPF has focused on maintaining “calm” rather than addressing the sovereign implications of a drone strike in SVG’s waters. This approach effectively relegates local security forces to the role of a cleanup crew, tasked with retrieving wreckage and the alleged “9 kilos of cocaine”.The RSVGPF’s directive for fishermen to “continue normal operations” is particularly tone-deaf. It ignores the profound “chilling effect” described by local mariners who now view the sea as a potential battleground. To a fisherman on a small pirogue, the distinction between a “targeted intelligence strike” and a mistaken identity is a matter of life and death. By failing to challenge the U.S. narrative or demand transparent parameters for these operations, the government has allowed the sea once a highway for commerce to become a corridor of fear and death.However, the situation gets worst. In Kingstown, the refusal to “flex diplomatic muscle” was astonishing , with Prime Minister Godwin stating that the situation was ‘concerning and worrying’ and Minister of National Security St. Clair Leacock acknowledging that the demand for a sovereign defense is weighed against the threat of U.S. retaliation.Leacock has argued that SVG’s sovereignty is “buttressed and ensured” through membership in international bodies like the UN, Interpol, and the IMF, rather than through military strength. In this view, international law is the only viable shield for a small nation. However, this reliance on global frameworks appears increasingly hollow as regional intelligence mechanisms collapsed before, during and after the strike.The Regional Security System (RSS), intended to be the sentinel of the southeastern Caribbean, was reportedly “in the dark” regarding the U.S. operation. This breakdown in communication is a systemic failure of the U.S. to respect its regional partners.The absurdity of the situation is manifest in the communication breakdown:RSS Exclusion: Despite operating its own C-26 surveillance aircraft, the RSS was not briefed, rendering the regional security collective a bystander in its own waters.Communication Gaps: PM Pierre of Saint Lucia was forced to ask Kingstown for information that Kingstown itself did not have, as the U.S. had provided only a “military-to-police briefing” rather than formal state-to-state communication.CARICOM’s Watchful Eye: CARICOM Chairman Dr. Terrance Drew has confirmed the organisation is monitoring the “shock waves” of these strikes, recognising that the lack of coordination threatens the stability of the entire region.One can now safely say that the regional security relationship with the Trump regime is no longer a partnership but an occupation by proxy where the regime can carry out “lethal kinetic strikes” with zero regional consultation and absolute post-operational opacity.In the end, the SVG government has calculated that economic stability, the preservation of remittances and banking ties outweighs the assertive defence of its sovereignty and the human rights of its neighbours. While this may stave off immediate financial ruin, it leaves the Caribbean vulnerable to a superpower that increasingly views the region as a war zone rather than a community of sovereign states.