Displaying items by tag: war on drugs

US military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats are facing intense criticism after reports that a ‘double tap’ attack on 2 September killed survivors clinging to a burning vessel. The White House confirmed a second strike was ordered by Admiral Frank Bradley, saying it was lawful and authorised by defence secretary Pete Hegseth, though officials denied he instructed forces to ‘kill everybody’. More than eighty people have died in similar Caribbean operations since September, yet the USA has provided little hard evidence of drug trafficking. Lawmakers from both parties are demanding investigations, with some Democrats arguing the second strike might constitute a war crime if incapacitated survivors were deliberately targeted. The administration insists it is acting in self-defence against ‘narco-terrorist’ groups, while Venezuela has condemned the strikes as unlawful aggression.

Colombia is pursuing a peaceful alternative to its enduring drug crisis by offering payments to farmers who agree to uproot coca (the plant used to make cocaine) and replace it with legal crops like cocoa and coffee. About 4,000 families have joined the $14.4 million programme, despite risks from armed groups that profit from cocaine and the uncertainty of sustaining income through legal farming. The government, under president Gustavo Petro, is aiming to eliminate coca from 45,000 hectares in conflict-heavy regions such as the Micay Canyon. However, since he took office in 2022 cocaine production has soared, driven by sustained demand worldwide, and his efforts to negotiate with armed groups, rather than using military confrontation, have faltered.  Now the Trump administration is reassessing Colombia’s status as a partner in the anti-drug campaign, threatening to curtail millions of dollars in military aid.

Thousands have been killed amid ‘near impunity’ for offenders in the war on illegal drugs since 2016, the UN says. Its report levelled heavy criticism at President Rodrigo Duterte's government. His crackdown has been marked by high-level rhetoric that can be seen as ‘permission to kill’. Official figures show more than 8,000 people killed since he took office: other estimates put the figure three times as high. Most victims are young poor urban males, and police, who do not need search or arrest warrants to conduct house raids, systematically force suspects to make self-incriminating statements or risk facing lethal force. Duterte described the report as ‘a travesty’. Despite the many killings he remains very popular.