Tag: The Caribbean

The Caribbean

UN experts demand end to US strikes on ‘drug boats’

Coast GuardUnited Nations experts issued a statement demanding an end to the unlawful attacks and killings carried out by the United States military on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The experts indicated that these attacks—which began a year ago and resumed in August after a months-long hiatus—are not justifiable under international humanitarian law. In the year since the first attack, an estimated 227 individuals have been killed in the strikes, none of whom were formally charged with a crime or had been previously detained. (US Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons) 

The Caribbean

Cuba at risk of becoming ‘silent Gaza’

CubaUN human rights experts condemned recent measures by the United States against Cuba, calling them attempts to "alter the constitutional order of a sovereign State through threats and coercion," and demanding that the Security Council and the General Assembly take action on the matter. Accusing the US of contraventions of the UN Charter, the experts warned that Cuba is at risk of becoming a "silent Gaza." (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

The Caribbean

US charges Raúl Castro in 1996 plane shoot-down

CubaUS federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five former Cuban military pilots in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes flown by the Miami exile group Brothers to the Rescue, an attack that killed four people over international waters. Castro, 94, headed Cuba's armed forces at the time and later served as the island's president. Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the charges "a political manoeuver, devoid of any legal foundation." (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

The Caribbean

Identifying victims of the US boat strikes

Coast GuardNearly 200 people have been killed since the US started bombing boats supposedly believed to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific last September—and the figure keeps rising. The strikes have caused an international outcry over the violation of international human rights law, but there has been little information about the victims themselves. A months-long cross-border investigation coordinated by the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) has now managed to piece together the details of over 20 of the young men believed to have been killed, plus three survivors. They were overwhelmingly poor fishermen and small boat transporters without criminal records. They came from economically vulnerable coastal communities, including in Colombia, Venezuela, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Ecuador. The investigation identified each of the boats targeted and noted that their home governments have failed so far to investigate the attacks. (US Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons) 

The Caribbean

World Court opens hearings on Essequibo dispute

EssequiboThe International Court of Justice opened oral hearings on the merits of a territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, with Guyana asking the court to declare that Venezuela has no legitimate claim to the oil-rich territory that constitutes some two-thirds of Guyana's landmass. Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed the role after the US military operation that led to Nicolas  Maduro's capture earlier this year, stated in August 2025 that Venezuela would ignore the ICJ's final ruling. (Map: Google)

The Caribbean

Cuba: UN issues urgent call for humanitarian aid

CubaThe United Nations called upon the international community to provide immediate support for Cuba amid a worsening humanitarian crisis compounded by the effects of Hurricane Melissa, which struck the country in October 2025. The UN resident coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichon, said the humanitarian situation has reached a critical point following the US oil blockade imposed in January. He added that the population remains in need of urgent humanitarian aid despite an oil shipment from Russia in late March that the US administration chose not to interfere with. (Photo: Виктор Пинчук via Wikimedia Commons)

The Caribbean

Ongoing US air-strikes on vessels in Caribbean

Coast GuardHuman Rights Watch released a statement condemning the "unlawful use of lethal force outside any context of armed conflict" by the US military over the past months. The organization stressed that the ongoing deadly strikes on vessels thought to be carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific amount to "extrajudicial executions." The statement came in response to an announcement from the Pentagon's Southern Command that the US carried out a "lethal kinetic strike" on a boat allegedly engaged in drug trafficking. The strike killed three individuals, and was the 47th such strike  carried out since September, resulting in 163 total deaths. (US Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons) 

The Caribbean

Dutch court orders climate measures for Bonaire

HagueThe Hague District Court ruled that the Netherlands has failed to meet its international obligations on climate change. The court ordered the government to adopt adequate measures to better protect Bonaire, a Dutch Caribbean island, within 18 months. The court concluded that the government had violated the rights of the residents of Bonaire under the European Convention of Human Rights. The recent advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice significantly influenced the Dutch court in determining the state's obligations in regard to climate change. (Photo: Dialogue Earth)

The Caribbean

Trump announces plan to ‘run’ Venezuela

VenezuelaTrump announced that the US would "run" Venezuela, following a strike on the country that led to the capture and transfer to the US of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores. In a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump emphasized the recent decline of Venezuela's oil industry, stating that US oil companies would spend billions to repair the country's infrastructure and bring in foreign exchange. Claiming to be acting in the interest of bringing "peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela," he added that the US would be prepared to "stage a second and larger attack" if necessary. Maduro's vice president Delcy Rodriguez, now sworn in as interim president, has offered no indication of acquiescence in Trump's plans. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

The Caribbean

China condemns US seizure of Venezuela-linked tankers

BellaChinese officials condemned the US seizure of oil tankers headed from Venezuelan ports, calling the acts a "serious violation of international law." The protest came days after US troops boarded and seized the Panama-flagged tanker Centuries. According to the White House, while the ship was not on the US Treasury's sanctioned vessel list, it carried state-owned oil as part of Venezuela's "shadow fleet." Reports have indicated that the Centuries was headed for China. Days earlier, the US seized the M/T Skipper, which the Justice Department claimed was "being used in an oil shipping network supporting Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force," two US-designated "foreign terrorist organizations." (Photo: VesselFinder)

The Caribbean

UN protests as Trump threatens Venezuela

NavyThe United Nations urged all countries to respect international norms safeguarding civil aviation, following US President Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to "completely shut down" Venezuelan airspace. The statement added that the Secretary-General is also "gravely concerned" about the strikes on Venezuelan civilian vessels at sea, which the US alleges were involved in drug trafficking. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk asserted that the strikes violate international human rights law, and called for transparent investigations into the attacks. Türk described the strikes as "extrajudicial killings," emphasizing that "the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life." (Photo: US Navy via Wikimedia Commons)

The Caribbean

Potential war crimes seen in Trump’s Caribbean strikes

warshipsUN human rights experts raised concern over "repeated and systematic lethal attacks" by the US military against vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which they said could constitute war crimes under international maritime law. Three UN special rapporteurs stated that the attacks "appear to be unlawful killings" that lack any "judicial or legal process allowing due process of law." They said that no efforts were made to "apprehend the individuals or provide concrete evidence about why they were lawful targets." They further charged that the strikes were not motivated by "national self-defence," and did not target "individuals posing an imminent threat to life." The experts said that they had raised these concerns directly with the US government, calling for an immediate halt to the strikes, and an independent investigation. (Photo: US Navy via Latin America Reports)