This is a significant rupture between two very close allies, with the United Kingdom wanting to move away from what the White House says is a war against the cartels
The United Kingdom stopped sharing information with the United States about vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean because it does not want to be an accomplice to US military attacks and considers the attacks to be illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The UK’s decision marks a significant break with its closest ally and intelligence-sharing partner and highlights growing skepticism about the legality of the US military campaign in Latin America.
For years, the United Kingdom, which controls a number of territories in the Caribbean where it bases its intelligence, has helped the United States locate ships suspected of carrying drugs so that the U.S. Coast Guard can interdict them, the sources said. This meant that ships would be stopped, boarded, their crew detained and the drugs seized.
The information was typically sent to the Joint Interagency Task Force South, a task force stationed in Florida that includes representatives from several partner nations and works to reduce the illicit drug trade.
However, shortly after the US began launching lethal attacks on the boats in September, the UK became concerned that the US would use intelligence provided by the British to select targets. British authorities believe that the US military strikes, which killed 76 people, violate international law, the sources stressed. The break in the secret services began more than a month ago, they added.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said last month that the attacks violate international law and constitute “extrajudicial executions.” The United Kingdom agrees with that assessment, sources confirmed to CNN.
The British embassy in Washington, the Pentagon and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Before the US military began busting boats in September, the fight against illicit drug trafficking was carried out by law enforcement and the US Coast Guard. Cartel members and drug smugglers were treated as criminals entitled to due process – something the UK was happy to help with, sources said.
But the Trump administration has argued that the U.S. military can legally kill drug suspects because they pose an imminent threat to Americans and are “enemy combatants” who are in an “armed conflict” with the U.S., according to a memo the administration sent to Congress. The Justice Department’s office of legal counsel issued an opinion, which is still confidential, reinforcing that argument, CNN reported, and Trump has designated several drug cartels as “foreign terrorist groups.” The White House has repeatedly stated that the administration’s actions “fully comply with the Law of Armed Conflict,” the area of international law that is designed to prevent attacks on civilians.
But legal experts say the Law of Armed Conflict would continue to apply to civilian drug traffickers and that designating a group as a foreign terrorist organization does not automatically authorize the use of lethal force. According to CNN, several vessels struck by the United States were stationary or were turning around when they were attacked, which calls into question the administration’s claim that they posed an imminent threat that could not be resolved through interdiction and detention.
Senior US defense officials have also expressed skepticism about the military campaign. The commander of US Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Holsey, offered to resign during a tense meeting last month with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after he raised questions about the legality of the strikes, CNN reported. Holsey will leave his role in December, just a year into his term as head of SOUTHCOM.
According to CNN, lawyers specializing in international law from the Defense Department’s general counsel’s office also expressed their concerns about the legality of the attacks. Several current and former uniformed lawyers told CNN that the attacks do not appear to be legal. Hegseth’s spokesman previously denied that any lawyers involved in the operations disagreed.
Canada, another important US ally, which has been helping the US Coast Guard to interdict suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean for almost two decades, has also distanced itself from US military attacks. Sources told CNN that Canada intends to continue its partnership with the Coast Guard, called Operation Caribbean. But the country has made clear to the United States that it does not want its information used to help target boats for deadly attacks, the sources told CNN.
A Canadian defense spokesperson told Canadian media last month that “it is important to note that Canadian Armed Forces activities under Operation Caribbean, conducted in coordination with the United States Coast Guard, are separate and distinct” from US military raids on suspected drug trafficking vessels.
