San Juan, Puerto Rico — An organization in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is urging fishermen to take certain precautions after it was denounced The latest US strike in the eastern Caribbean Killing three people on a suspected drug boat.
Winsbert Harry, president of the National Fishermen’s Organization, told St. Vincent’s state television station SVG-TV late Tuesday that he was concerned about the safety of fishermen in the Caribbean.
Tuesday, The US government announced It said it carried out strikes on three boats, one of them in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people. Officials provided no evidence that the boats were transporting drugs.
Saint Lucian Prime Minister Philippe J. Pierre said on Monday that his government was “actively working through existing diplomatic and security channels to verify the facts” after confirming that “people lost their lives.” He declined to comment further, including whether at least one of the victims was a fisherman from Saint Lucia.
“We will communicate confirmed information to the public quickly and responsibly,” he wrote in a social media post.
Meanwhile, former Premier of St. Vincent Ralph Gonsalves He criticized the strike during his radio show on Monday, and called on the archipelago’s current leader to make a public statement.
“Even if these people are involved in drug trafficking, you cannot simply kill them,” he told Star FM. “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. You cannot be judge, jury and executioner without giving people a chance to defend themselves in a court of law.”
Harry, of the fishermen’s organization, noted that the strike comes as the Eastern Caribbean region prepares for the peak tuna season, with many fishermen relying on fishing for their livelihood.
He called on fishermen to clearly identify their boats and constantly monitor the ships surrounding them, especially when they are on the high seas. Harry also warned that visibility is lowest during the pre-dawn hours, when hunters usually set out.
“You never know what could happen,” he said, adding that he and others are afraid to go out.
US strikes that began in September killed at least 145 people and angered some officials in the Caribbean, where many of the strikes took place.
One such strike killed two fishermen from Trinidad and Tobago in mid-October.
Late last month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts announced that relatives of the two slain fishermen Sue the US government “On charges of manslaughter and extrajudicial killing.” This is believed to be the first case of unlawful killing since the strikes began last year.
The American Civil Liberties Union said that Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaro, 41, were among the six people killed that day as they returned from Venezuela to their home in Venezuela. Trinidad and Tobago.
“If the US government believed Rishi had done anything wrong, they should have arrested, charged and detained him, not killed him,” Salikar Kurasinghe, Samaru’s sister, said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump He said the United States is in an “armed conflict.” With drug cartels in Latin America, he justified the ongoing attacks, saying they were necessary to stop the flow of drugs.
Meanwhile critics He questioned the legality Of strikes.
“It is absurd and dangerous for any country to unilaterally declare that ‘war’ exists in order to deploy lethal military force,” Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a recent statement. “These are cold-blooded extrajudicial killings, killing for sport, killing for theatre, and that is why we need a court of law to declare what is right and restrain what is lawless.”