1. Crímenes de Guerra vs. Asesinato: La Ausencia de Guerra Declarada.
La crítica central es que, al no existir una declaración de guerra por parte del Congreso, los ataques letales constituyen asesinatos. Incluso si se aceptara la premisa de un "conflicto armado" contra los carteles, los traficantes de drogas son civiles y su ejecución sumaria es ilegal, ya que el narcotráfico es un delito y no un acto de guerra.
- We are not at war with drug smugglers. They just made up narco-terrorism as a thing so they can say drug smugglers are enemy combatants.
- Blowing people up in international waters is murder. We are not at war with unarmed venezuelan fishermen. Even if they were smuggling drugs, its illegal to shoot a missile at them.
- Drug smuggling is a crime, not an act of war. They are civilians even if the allegations made by the regime are true.
- If theres no armed conflict, the military has no justification to kill anyone and its murder.
- Bombing boats in international waters without a declaration of war is a criminal act.
2. La Controversia del "Doble Golpe" y la Prohibición de No Dar Cuartel.
El aspecto más condenado es el supuesto "doble golpe" ordenado para eliminar a los sobrevivientes que se aferraban a los restos de las embarcaciones. Expertos legales coinciden en que matar a combatientes que han sido puestos fuera de combate (hors de combat) es un crimen de guerra de manual, independientemente de si eran traficantes o no.
- Even if you accept that these are drug smugglers, and that this somehow makes them legitimate military targets, killing shipwrecked enemy combatants is a war crime.
- Killing the survivors would be the textbook war crime, but as it is its just murder.
- An order to kill all the boats occupants if they were no longer able to fight would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime.
- Attack on shipwrecked crew members, whether they are narco-terrorists designated by the president or not, whether theyre war criminals or not, it doesnt matter killing them while shipwrecked while theyre hors de combat, theyre out of the fight, is a war crime.
- Exexuting shipwrecked survivors are peak war crime. It doesnt get any clearer than that.
3. Falta de Evidencia y Proceso Legal.
Se señala la ausencia total de debido proceso y la falta de pruebas concretas de que las embarcaciones transportaran drogas. La práctica habitual de la Guardia Costera (interdicción, incautación y arresto) fue reemplazada por ejecuciones extrajudiciales, destruyendo cualquier posible evidencia y levantando sospechas de que las víctimas eran pescadores inocentes.
- Theres no evidence of drugs on those boats. Were spending billions sending aircraft carriers and fighter jets - it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to disable the boats and seize the drugs.
- No evidence provided that these were actual drug boats. Even if they are drug boats, these actions are murderwar crimes. Drug enforcement is a law enforcement activity.
- The pentagon has no interest in interdicting suspected drug boats. No due process, in other words. No evidence. No proof of any crime. Just sink the boats. And thats what weve been doing. Extra-judicial executions in international waters. These are war crimes.
- The coast guard usually halts and arrests such traffickers.
- We are not at war. Smugglers are not combatants. It is already murder the moment they open fire on a boat with intent to kill.
4. La Designación de "Narco-Terrorismo" como Justificación.
La administración ha intentado legitimar los ataques designando a los carteles como "narco-terroristas" para invocar las leyes de guerra. Los críticos rechazan esta etiqueta, argumentando que es un término inventado para convertir un problema de aplicación de la ley en una justificación militar para el asesinato de civiles.
- Narco-terrorists is an entirely made up term.
- The dojs logic is elegant in its insanity since the president declared drug trafficking part of a non-international armed conflict, anyone he points to can be vaporized without trial. In other words, the war on drugs has literally gone naval.
- The us military is murdering people on the high seas, with no legal justification, by claiming theyre smuggling a drug fentanyl to the u.s. From a nation that doesnt smuggle that drug, and the boats are bound for europe, in order to make up a war.
- The designation is not supportable, and any justification that follows is not valid. The individuals involved are committing crimes, and they cannot hide behind the olc.
- The made up term narco terrorist is their way of saying they are fighting terrorism so they can act under the 2001 aumf. Drug smuggling is not terrorism. The motivation is money. It is not about politics or religion. There is no grounds for war.