© 2025 The White House/Handout via Reuters(Washington, DC, September 18, 2025) – United States military strikes against two boats allegedly carrying drug traffickers, which the Trump administration said killed at least 14 people, were unlawful extrajudicial killings, Human Rights Watch said today. “US officials cannot summarily kill people they accuse of smuggling drugs,” said Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. From the low-resolution footage, Human Rights Watch visually confirmed that at least six people were aboard the vessel at the time of the strike. The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions, in a joint statement with two other UN human rights experts, has condemned both strikes as extrajudicial executions. Foreign governments should publicly and privately condemn the attacks, Human Rights Watch said.