Did US Military Trade Due Process for Murder?

The US military destroyed an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel traveling in international waters on the way to the US. A 30-second video was also released, which appeared to show a sea-going vessel exploding and bursting into flames. Trump stated that three men were killed in the attack on "violent drug trafficking cartels". At the time, he provided no evidence that the boat was carrying drugs, despite claiming, "All you have to do is look at the cargo - it was spattered all over the ocean - big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place."

This wasn’t the first boat. An earlier attack on a boat, said to be carrying drugs from Venezuela, resulted in the deaths of all eleven on board. Washington claimed "100% fidelity and certainty" that the vessel was involved in trafficking to the US. Some evidence supposedly suggests otherwise.

International waters, while not completely lawless, refers to areas of the ocean that do not belong to any country or fall under any country’s jurisdiction. Territorial waters, on the other hand, extend twelve nautical miles from the coast of all nations with a coastline, with each nation having sovereignty over such waters. These two definitions are important. They basically decide which country can do “what” based on “where”.

All of this brings me to one question. Whatever happened to the concept of due process? If those killed in these attacks were truly drug traffickers, why did they not get their day in court? America is suppose to be a country where people are innocent until proven guilty. Did Trump, and our military, simply decide that high seas murderous anarchy, aka Pirates of the Caribbean, should rule the day?

Trump defended himself by saying, "These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels pose a threat to US national security." No! They don’t. Those in the boats were allegedly trafficking drugs, not a nuclear weapon or military arms. The US isn’t going to fail to be a nation because a certain percentage of citizens decide to waste their lives consuming illicit drugs. Trump has a habit of claiming “national security” to achieve whatever he wants, that existing laws would otherwise prevent.

Keep in mind, I believe drugs that serve little purpose other than to escape reality, are one of society’s biggest scourges. However, I also believe every human being, for better or worse, has the right to indulge in arguable self-destruction. Freedom is not freedom when self-autonomy is denied. Prohibition of alcohol in the last century proved that banning “desirable pleasures” doesn’t work. We would be better off legalizing drugs, along with regulating them. Overdoses would be reduced, impurities would mostly be weeded out, and the taxes could provide for rehabilitation.

Even more important, though, is that everyone deserves due process. Your life should not come down to politics of association.

Source used: Guardian