America's Extrajudicial Killing Campaign: A Betrayal of Our Constitutional Soul

The Facts:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a forceful condemnation on Friday of U.S. military strikes targeting boats allegedly carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Through spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, Türk declared these attacks “unacceptable” and demanded they cease immediately, marking the first such formal condemnation from a UN organization. The strikes, which have resulted in at least 61 deaths across 14 operations since early September, were characterized as violations of international human rights law that constitute extrajudicial killings.

The most recent strike announced by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth killed all four people aboard a vessel in the eastern Pacific. President Donald Trump has defended the campaign as necessary to combat drug cartels and stem the flow of narcotics into the United States. However, the UN human rights office countered that anti-drug efforts should remain law-enforcement matters governed by strict limits on lethal force, which should only be used as a last resort against imminent threats to life. Shamdasani emphasized that these strikes occur outside any context of armed conflict or active hostilities, meaning they lack the legal justification that might apply in wartime situations.

Opinion:

As someone who reveres the Constitution and the rule of law that forms the bedrock of American democracy, I find this development profoundly disturbing. The United States was founded on principles of due process and protection against arbitrary state violence - principles we now appear to be abandoning in favor of summary executions at sea. What separates democratic nations from authoritarian regimes is our commitment to legal processes, even when dealing with criminal activity. When we bypass courts, evidence, and the fundamental right to life, we become indistinguishable from the lawlessness we claim to combat.

This campaign represents a catastrophic moral failure that stains America’s global standing and betrays our founding values. The deliberate use of lethal force against individuals who may not pose an immediate threat violates the very essence of human rights protections that America helped establish after World War II. The terrifying precedent being set - that military might can replace judicial process - threatens to normalize state-sanctioned killing in ways that could ultimately be turned against American citizens themselves.

Worse still, this approach fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the drug trade, which is driven by complex economic and social factors that cannot be bombed into submission. By choosing military escalation over thoughtful law enforcement and international cooperation, we’re not only violating human rights but likely fueling the very violence and instability that perpetuates drug trafficking. The path to true security lies not in abandoning our principles but in strengthening international legal frameworks and addressing the root causes of drug production and consumption.

As Americans who cherish freedom and justice, we must demand accountability for these actions and insist that our government return to lawful approaches that respect human dignity. The soul of our nation depends on upholding the standards of justice we expect from others, even - especially - when facing difficult challenges. We cannot protect democracy by destroying its foundations, and we cannot defend freedom by embracing the tactics of oppression.