"President Donald Trump says US military strikes on eight vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, mostly targeting boats from Venezuela, were legal because they carried drugs being delivered to the United States. But Republican Senator Rand Paul, Kentucky, who is also chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said maritime law enforcement statistics show that not all boats suspected of carrying drugs actually have drugs onboard."
"This happens every day off of Miami, Paul said on October 19 on NBC's Meet the Press programme. We know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25 percent of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship, there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25 percent of the people might be innocent."
U.S. military struck eight vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, mostly targeting boats from Venezuela, on grounds that they carried drugs destined for the United States. The U.S. Coast Guard's 2024 report shows drug interceptions on about 73 percent of boardings and no drugs on roughly 27 percent of vessel boardings. More than 30 people were killed in the strikes, and no evidence has been publicly provided confirming drugs aboard the targeted vessels. Standard maritime law enforcement typically involves announcing intent to board and searching for contraband. Experts note ambiguity in how the Coast Guard defines a "drug disruption," complicating interpretation of the data.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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