U.N. Special Rapporteur Ben Saul says the boat strikes are extrajudicial killings that may be crimes against humanity
Ben SaulU.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism, writing in an individual capacity in a briefing note
In a briefing note he posted on September 20, Ben Saul said the U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats "amount to serial extrajudicial killings" and that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" the 68 attacks he counted through August "constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law".
Responding to
Ben Saul said that, even assuming the vessels and crews attacked were members of criminal groups the United States lists as terrorist organizations, those groups have not mounted an armed attack on the United States that would justify self-defense, and that there are reasonable grounds to believe the 68 attacks he counted through August 2026 were crimes against humanity of murder.
“It finds that such attacks amount to serial extrajudicial killings in violation of the right to life, being unjustified in national or personal self-defence or under international humanitarian law, the international law of the sea, narcotics suppression conventions, or international counter-terrorism law. … even assuming that the vessels and crew attacked were members of the criminal groups listed as terrorist, such organizations have not mounted any “armed attack” on the United States so as to trigger a right of self-defence. … There are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law.”
Original text
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was the U.S. military's September 19 Caribbean boat strike justified by evidence of narcotics trafficking?
On September 19, 2026, U.S. Southern Command announced that Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere had struck a go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea and killed four people it called "narco-terrorists". The command said "Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking". According to The Associated Press, the military did not provide evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs. On September 20, U.N. Special Rapporteur Ben Saul posted a briefing note concluding that U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats since September 2025 amount to "serial extrajudicial killings" and that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" the 68 attacks he counted through August 2026 "constituted crimes against humanity of murder". White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on September 22 that the strikes have been "against designated narcoterrorists". The dispute is whether the intelligence Southern Command cites, which it did not release with its announcement, justified the September 19 strike.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Briefing note by the U.N. Special Rapporteur assessing the U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats from September 2025 to August 2026 under international law. The OHCHR web page for the note lists it as published on September 15, 2026, and Saul posted it on X on September 20.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original post
About this source
Saul's own post releasing the briefing note, with a link to the OHCHR document.
Reporting
About this source
Guardian report on Saul's briefing note. It reports that Saul posted the note on social media on Sunday night, quotes Southern Command's statement, and says the State Department had not responded to a request for comment.
Reporting
About this source
BBC report on Saul's briefing note. It quotes Southern Command's September 19 statement and Saul's conclusions and says the BBC asked the White House and the State Department for a response.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Saul posted the briefing note on September 20, the day after Southern Command announced the September 19 strike. The note counts U.S. strikes through August 2026.
After the quotation
The BBC reported that it asked the White House and the State Department for a response, and The Guardian reported that the State Department had not responded to a request for comment. As of September 25, 2026, we could not locate a public response from the State Department or the White House that refers to the note.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Measured against the September 19 strike and its stated basis, Saul rejects the justification for lethal force even if the crews belonged to groups the United States lists as terrorist organizations. That is an express condemnation of the strikes, which goes beyond disputing how the boats or crews are described.
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More from this case
Read the full caseRachel VanLandingham says international condemnation makes it clearer the boat strikes are unlawful
“For the vast majority of service members, except perhaps the senior-most commanders, there is both no safe recourse for them to disobey orders related to the illegal boat strikes and at the same time, there is no exposure to criminal liability for them either … Yes, the growing international condemnation makes it clearer that these strikes are unlawful, but doesn’t overcome the White House’s own legal sanitization process and doesn’t create a legal duty for any service member to disobey their boat strike-related orders”Read statement
Southern Command tells Task & Purpose its operations have been conducted lawfully
U.S. Southern Command
“have been conducted lawfully, fully complying with the law of armed conflict”Read statement
Chuy Garcia calls the Caribbean and Pacific boat strikes illegal extrajudicial killings
“Donald Trump is dropping bombs across the Caribbean and Pacific in blatant violation of the law and of fundamental human rights … This has done nothing to stop the flow of drugs or to make Americans safer. Instead, it has left hundreds dead, families devastated, and communities in fear. Let us call these attacks what they are: illegal extrajudicial killings.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "U.N. Special Rapporteur Ben Saul says the boat strikes are extrajudicial killings that may be crimes against humanity". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2650-in-a-briefing-note-he-posted-on-september