An exclusive report by The Pentagon says that the Pentagon used a secret aircraft, painted to look like a civilian, in what it had described as a , killing 11 people in September, according to officials briefed on the case.
The aircraft carried no visible weapons under its wings, as the munitions were housed inside the fuselage — a detail of particular legal significance.
Because the “political” appearance changes everything
The civilian aspect of the aircraft is critical, legal experts note, because the Trump administration has argued that deadly attacks on boats are legal, as the president himself has ruled that the US is in an armed conflict with drug cartels.
However, international law expressly prohibits belligerents from pretending to be civilians in order to surprise the adversary. This is a war crime known as “perfidy”.
“If he is not recognized as a soldier, he cannot kill”
Retired Lt. Gen. Steven Lepper, former top legal adviser to the US Air Force, was adamant: “If the aircraft was painted to conceal its military nature and came close enough for those on board to see it, then that constitutes a war crime. Concealment of identity is an element of deceit.”
The attack, the survivors and the second strike
According to officials who saw or were briefed on surveillance video, the aircraft descended low enough to be visible. The vessel reportedly turned towards Venezuela, as soon as it became aware of it, shortly before receiving the first blow.
Two survivors of the initial attack were reportedly waving their arms at the aircraft, having climbed onto an overturned part of the craft. A short time later they were killed in a second attack, which completely submerged the wreckage. It is not clear whether they knew the first strike had been made by a missile.
Changing tactics, but not answers
After the incident, the US military reportedly changed tactics, now using visibly military aircraft such as MQ-9 Reaper drones. In an attack in October, two people managed to escape, swimming away from the wreckage and eventually rescued by the military, returning to Colombia and Ecuador.
The Pentagon responds, without getting to the point
The US Special Operations Command declined to comment on the type of aircraft. The Pentagon, however, maintained that all of its media have passed legal scrutiny.
“The U.S. armed forces use a wide range of standard and non-standard aircraft depending on operational needs,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson.
White aircraft without markings?
Officials confirm that the aircraft was not painted in the classic military gray and did not carry insignia. Reddit users uploaded photos in early September of a modified Boeing 737, painted white with a blue stripe, at the airport in St. Croix.
Although the aircraft was broadcasting a military signal via transponder, experts stress that the people on board had no way of picking it up.
123 dead and a disputed ‘conflict’
In total, the US military has killed at least 123 people in 35 attacks on ships in the Caribbean and Pacific. Many experts on the law of war call Trump’s and Hegseth’s orders illegal and murderous.
The government, however, insists it is an “armed conflict” with 24 cartels and criminal organizations designated as terrorists, a claim that is hotly contested. However, to date, he has not produced the slightest evidence that the vessels targeted were actually involved in any smuggling.
The crucial question
As law professor Jeffrey Korn summarizes: “The key question is whether there was any credible reason to use an unmarked aircraft other than to exploit the illusion of political identity for tactical advantage.”
And it is precisely this answer that may determine whether the operation will go down in history as an anti-narcotics operation or as a war crime.
