UK "no longer sharing intelligence" with USA about suspected drug vessels in Caribbean despite Royal Navy op
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The UK has stopped sharing data intelligence with the USA about suspected drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, reports say.
As reported by CNN, Britain is “no longer sharing intelligence” with their American counterparts about drug trafficking vessels. Royal Navy personnel and assets have played a vital role in apprehending narcotics traffickers in the region over the years, often working alongside American Coast Guard and Navy personnel.
Seizures of substances worth millions of pounds are commonplace, with the Portsmouth-based warship HMS Trent becoming the first Royal Navy vessel to intercept a “narco-sub” - confiscating £160m worth of cocaine in that instance and £750m of drugs throughout its last deployment period. CNN reports that the agreement stopped because it “does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal”.
US President Donald Trump has stepped up the country’s war on drugs by deploying the world’s largest warship, USS Gerald R Ford, to the region and the northern part of South America. He accused Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro of leading drug-trafficking organisations, which he denies.
HMS Trent is currently focusing on providing disaster relief to British Overseas Territories, with personnel helping to rebuild parts of Jamaica after it was hit by Hurricane Melissa. The Royal Navy have not been involved in the strikes.
Human Rights charity Amnesty International has condemned the US Military’s actions. In a statement issued on October 29, Daphne Eviatar, Amnesty International USA’s director for human rights and security, said: “In the last two months, the U.S. military’s Southern Command has gone on a murder spree by following the Trump administration’s illegal orders. The administration has not even named its victims, nor provided evidence of their alleged crimes. But even if they did, intentionally killing people accused of committing crimes who pose no imminent threat to life is murder, full stop.”
The Royal Navy has previously supported America with anti-drug trafficking ops, which have involved stopping ships, boarding them, detained their crew, and seizing the contraband. Intelligence was typically sent to Joint Interagency Task Force South, CNN said, with the task force stationed in Florida including representatives from various partner nations.
The US publication said British officials believe the US military strikes, which have killed 76 people, violate international law, with the intelligence pause beginning over a month ago. CNN sources added that officials agree with the UN’s human right chief, Volker Türk, who said last month the strikes violate international law and amount to “extra judicial killing”.
The Trump administration has argued that the military can kill suspected traffickers as they pose an imminent threat to the nation, and are “enemy combatants” in an “armed conflict”. The British embassy in Washington and the White House did not comment. A Pentagon official told CNN it doesn't discuss defence matters.