The UK is reportedly opposed to President Trump’s strikes on alleged cartel vessels.
According to CNN and The Times, Britain has suspended sharing its intelligence on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean with the US after the Pentagon began conducting lethal strikes on the vessels.
British officials reportedly agree that the US’ strikes violate international law and amount to “extrajudicial killing.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has also announced the suspension of intelligence sharing with the US in response to its airstrikes, saying they were illegal.
Since September the US has killed at least 76 people in international waters as part of President Trump’s campaign against what he says are “narcoterrorists” operating out of Venezuela.
RT reports: According to CNN, London suspended intelligence-sharing because it believes the strikes are illegal under international law. A UK military source told The Times: “We don’t just target the vessel and kill people. We would arrest them.”
The UK had used intelligence assets stationed on its Caribbean overseas territories to help the US Coast Guard intercept vessels suspected of smuggling drugs, CNN reports.
The UN’s top human rights official, Volker Turk, condemned the strikes as “extrajudicial killing.”
Venezuela and neighboring Colombia have denied that the victims were involved with cartels. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected Trump’s allegations that his government is profiting from the drug trade.
Trump has deployed a naval armada, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, near Venezuela’s coast, hinting that he could authorize strikes on Venezuelan soil. He denies, however, that he is seeking regime change. Maduro has placed the military on alert and vowed to repel any attack.