New US Strike in the Caribbean Sea: A War Without Mandate That Raises Concerns

Washington, Sunday, November 2, 2025 — The Caribbean, long perceived as a commercial and cultural transit space between the Americas, is increasingly becoming the scene of worrying militarization under the pretext of the “war on drugs.” On Saturday, US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed a new aerial strike against a boat in the Caribbean Sea, which reportedly left at least three dead. This is the fifteenth such attack since the launch of a broad American offensive in early September. A War Without Borders or Transparency In a short video published on social media, Mr. Hegseth presented the ship's explosion as an “operational success” against presumed drug traffickers. However, no evidence was provided. The Pentagon claims the target “was known to intelligence services,” without revealing any identity or formal link to a cartel. The operation took place in international waters, outside any national jurisdiction. This simple detail raises an essential question: by what right can the United States execute individuals on the high seas, without trial or warrant, based on unverified accusations? The Logic of “Armed Conflict Against Cartels” According to Washington, these strikes are part of a broader strategy, based on a presidential decree signed by Donald Trump, recognizing drug cartels as “belligerent entities.” In other words, the US government grants itself the right to use military force, including lethal force, against civilians suspected of criminal activities, without territorial distinction. This rhetorical and legal shift, denounced by many international law experts, pushes the anti-drug fight into a gray area, between war and law enforcement. “It’s a major deviation from the law of war. The United States is inventing a conflict that doesn’t exist to justify illegal strikes,” estimates a jurist from the Center for Constitutional Rights, quoted by The Intercept. 65 Deaths in Two Months: A Heavy Human Toll Since September, approximately 65 people have died in these strikes, according to figures released by the Pentagon. Some victims have never been identified, others have disappeared at sea. The most controversial case remains that of a ship struck in the Eastern Pacific on October 27: Washington claimed a survivor had been rescued, but the Mexican navy has since announced that no trace of this person was found. Behind the coldness of military reports, human lives are erased without trial, without investigation, and without accountability. These operations, conducted under the guise of regional security, recall the extrajudicial executions already denounced in the context of the “war on terror” in the Middle East. The Caribbean Under Tension: A Space of Disguised Domination Beyond the security discourse, this new military campaign reveals a strategic American redeployment in the Caribbean Sea, a region historically perceived by Washington as its “natural sphere of influence.” With 10,000 soldiers already deployed and another 5,000 en route aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the United States is progressively militarizing a shared maritime space, without consulting the riparian countries. For many Caribbean observers, this posture resembles a neocolonial show of force, aiming as much to control economic and migratory flows as to intimidate the states of the region. A Dangerous Precedent for International Law The United States justifies these attacks by the need to “protect its population against transnational threats.” But in reality, no treaty, no UN resolution, nor any regional mandate grants them the right to use lethal force in the Caribbean Sea. This precedent risks paving the way for other powers that, in the name of fighting crime or terrorism, could conduct similar strikes outside their borders. It is a normalization of targeted assassination as a diplomatic tool—a deviation that undermines the very foundations of international law and state sovereignty. Towards an Invisible War By transforming the Caribbean into a battlefield, Washington exports its doctrine of preventive war and arrogates to itself the right of life and death over individuals never judged. Behind the triumphant statements from the Pentagon, an invisible war, without witnesses, without accountability, is unfolding off our coasts. More than a fight against drugs, this offensive resembles a masked military expansion, which risks fueling diplomatic tensions and further weakening an already vulnerable Caribbean space.