Pentagon Inspector General Reviews 57 U.S. Boat Strikes That Killed at Least 192

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 19

A May 11 inspector general letter says the review will examine whether U.S. Southern Command followed the Pentagon’s six-step process for targeting enemy combatants in its maritime strike campaign.
The assessment covers 57 airstrikes on vessels since September in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, where U.S. forces used warplanes and drones against people the Trump administration labels drug smugglers or “narco-terrorists.”
The watchdog said it opened the evaluation on its own as part of a broader review of Defense Department programs and will not set a public timeline; it also said the work will not judge the campaign’s legality.
That legal question has drawn outside criticism, with experts arguing the strikes could be unlawful if those targeted were civilians not posing an imminent threat, while the administration has not publicly provided evidence of drug smuggling.
Gen. Francis Donovan told senators on March 19 that the air campaign was not a long-term solution to reducing narcotics flows into the United States, underscoring wider doubts about the operation’s effectiveness.

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