The US military’s strikes on alleged drug boats have likely illegally killed “individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking,” Sen. Tim Kaine told the White House on Monday, following “a careful review” of classified information he has seen so far.
“They are murder victims,” the Virginia Democrat wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump.
So far, the US military has killed at least 221 people and destroyed at least 67 vessels in the “Operation Southern Spear” campaign, which began last September. The administration has told Congress the US is in an “armed conflict” against drug cartels, labeling those killed “unlawful combatants” and claiming the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial review due to a classified Justice Department finding.
But Kaine said Monday that his review has led him to believe “the United States is engaged in violent and fatal attacks against people far beyond” the parameters of the classified legal opinion. He added, “A careful review of the available evidence suggests that the United States has killed individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking.”
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https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/03/politics/tim-kaine-boat-strikes-illegal
