One Year and 227 Deaths Later, the Public Still Doesn’t Have Answers on the Administration’s Illegal Boat Strikes 

Washington, D.C. — Today marks one year since the Trump administration commenced its illegal boat strike campaign, which has killed 227 civilians and counting, according to media sources. David Janovsky, acting director of The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), issued the following statement:

“One year ago, the Trump administration launched its first attack on a civilian boat, killing 11 people. Since then, the administration has killed more than 200 people on boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. These strikes are illegal. Drug trafficking is not an act of war — it is a crime — and killing civilians without due process is illegal. And even if the administration were somehow correct that the U.S. is in a war with cartels, Congress has not authorized these strikes, and the administration has not proven the victims were lawful targets of them.

“After lawmakers attempted to get answers and were stonewalled, outside watchdogs tried to intervene. POGO Investigates, POGO’s newsroom division, issued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to release footage of one strike that allegedly shows the U.S. military killing shipwreck survivors. Thus far, the Pentagon has refused to comply, and the administration is now fighting to prevent the video from even being viewed by a judge who could help make a final decision on whether this footage is publicly released.

“One year after this illegal campaign began, it is beyond time for lawmakers to force accountability. Members of Congress must call administration officials into public hearings, reject any amount of funding that goes toward these campaigns, and stop flouting our laws.”