Sen. Kaine says US counter-narcotics boat strikes may have killed non-targets

Senator Tim Kaine wrote to the White House asserting that the U.S. military’s counter-narcotics strikes on vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean have likely killed people who were not involved in drug trafficking. Kaine said his review of a classified "execute order" signed by President Donald Trump showed that the targeting criteria were exceeded and that some victims did not meet the authorized parameters.

"You selected numerous organizations for targeting. That target list is classified so I cannot reveal it," Kaine wrote.

"Importantly, the classification of the list means that those you have asked the Department of Defense to target are entirely unaware that they are marked for execution," he added.

According to a count cited by ABC News, the strikes have resulted in at least 218 deaths and have cost the Pentagon more than $820 million under the operation known as Operation Southern Spear. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have defended the legality of the strikes, citing domestic and international law and intelligence assessments.

Kaine’s letter referenced a legal memorandum from the Department of Justice, which he says indicates that the United States has conducted lethal attacks beyond the scope of the legal opinion that defined lawful targets. He characterized some of the victims as "murder victims" in his correspondence.