Group says Congress must stop U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats

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(The Center Square) – A human rights group called for Congress to stop U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats, a tactic that President Donald Trump says is saving American lives.

Amnesty International USA claims that more than 150 people have been murdered at sea. The Trump administration says it's using the strikes to kill suspected narcoterrorists smuggling drugs to America.

"It is well past time for Congress to act to stop these killings," said Amnesty International USA's National Director for Government Relations Amanda Klasing. "As a whole, Congress has abdicated its duty to hold this administration to account for its actions."

On Monday, U.S. Southern Command posted video of a military strike on a suspected drug boat that killed three people.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post.

On Feb. 23, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/XUHImPAZik

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) February 23, 2026

This operation was one of many within U.S. Southern Command's Operation Southern Spear counter-narco-terrorism campaign. The War Department has publicly reported more than 40 strikes resulting in at least 137 fatalities.

The War Department has not estimated the value of the drugs destroyed in the strikes or the cost of the drug campaign. Even as the military carries out strikes on some vessels, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to seize drugs in other operations without killing those on board.

Democrats, some Republicans, and some international organizations have criticized the U.S. military strikes. However, Congress has not passed a measure requiring Trump to secure Congressional authorization before launching strikes.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said the Trump administration is addressing a national issue. Johnson previously compared Trump's military actions to President Barack Obama's strikes against overseas terrorists during his time in the White House. He said that Obama carried out more than 500 drone strikes that killed at least 3,700 people, including Americans, from 2009 to 2015.

Trump says the strategy is working and saving lives. The U.S. president said each sunken boat has saved 25,000 American lives from overdoses.

The president has said he could use the military to stop drug smuggling in other areas of the world, including the U.S.-Mexico border, but has yet to take action.