The Defense Department's inspector general has opened an investigation into whether military commanders followed required procedures when authorizing and executing lethal strikes against boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, according to a memo initiating the review.
The inquiry focuses on operations conducted by US Southern Command, which manages American military activity across the region from its headquarters in Doral, Florida. Specifically, investigators will examine whether commanders adhered to the Pentagon's mandatory six-step approval process before approving strikes.
The inspector general's office initiated the review independently, without a congressional request. Neither the Pentagon nor Southern Command responded to requests for comment on the investigation.
Operation Southern Spear, the military campaign targeting boats in Caribbean waters, has drawn intense criticism and legal challenges. The Trump administration has characterized the strikes as part of an anti-narcotrafficking effort, but the operation has claimed significant casualties. According to tracking data from the law journal Just Security, at least 58 attacks have killed 193 people, including 13 missing and presumed dead.
The administration has maintained that the operation operates within legal bounds. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated in November that operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both US and international law, with full compliance with the law of armed conflict.
International scrutiny has intensified considerably. Human rights organizations, watchdog groups, and a UN human rights panel have characterized the strikes as extrajudicial executions in violation of US and international law. A joint investigation published this month by the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism identified 13 of those killed, finding they were day laborers from impoverished communities with little or no connection to organized drug networks.
María Teresa Ronderos, the center's director, noted that the operation is not eliminating major drug trafficking figures. Instead, she said, the strikes are hitting young people in precarious circumstances who took work on boats out of desperation.
Congressional efforts to limit the operation have stalled. Senators Adam Schiff and Tim Kaine sponsored a resolution in October requiring congressional approval for further strikes, which failed 51-48 in the Republican-controlled Senate. The chamber rejected similar measures twice.
Senate Armed Services Committee chair Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, stated in December that his committee found no evidence of war crimes after examining the strikes.
International condemnation has come from multiple quarters. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said at a G7 meeting in November that the strikes violated international law and risked regional destabilization. Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on the UN general assembly in September to open a criminal investigation into whether former President Donald Trump should face charges.
Families of those killed have filed lawsuits against the US government challenging the strikes' legality. In March, Democratic representatives Joaquin Castro and Sara Jacobs wrote in support of an inter-American human rights investigation into the operation.
The inspector general's office will conduct its review at Pentagon facilities and Southern Command headquarters, with investigators asking senior officials to designate points of contact within five days.
Author James Rodriguez: "This investigation signals real accountability may finally be coming, but the scope of the review matters enormously when lives and international law hang in the balance."
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