‘Saber-Rattling’ in Caribbean: US drug war raises alarms over extrajudicial killings on high seas

Recent US military strikes on Venezuelan speedboats allegedly linked to drug cartels have sparked a wave of controversy. Dr. Nicholas Morgan, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies and Director of the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Newcastle University, offers a sobering assessment of the situation. He argues that the military deployments may be more about “saber-rattling” and domestic political grandstanding than any clear-cut strategy against organized crime. Dr. Morgan also raises serious concerns about the extrajudicial nature of the killings at sea, warning that such actions risk undermining international legal norms.