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Conflict & Security44 outlets ran this4 min read

UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity

Report states 68 US military strikes since September 2025 have resulted in at least 223 deaths.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
A combination image shows two screengrabs from a video posted on the X account of the White House on Sept. 15, 2025. The U.S. government campaign on alleged drug-carrying boats is now past the one-year mark, with international law experts condemning the attacks. (The White House/Reuters)

What this story says

  • US military strikes on boats suspected of drug trafficking may be crimes against humanity, according to UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul.
  • The report states there are reasonable grounds to believe that 68 US strikes since September 2025, resulting in at least 223 deaths, constitute crimes against humanity.
  • Saul concluded the US attacks are unjustifiable under international humanitarian law, international law of the sea, international counterterrorism law, and narcotics suppression conventions.
  • The US administration claims the strikes are in self-defence against narco-terrorists, a claim the report rejects.

Who covered it

Left 64%(14)Centre 13%(3)Right 23%(5)

Percentages are shares of the 22 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 22 of the 44 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

41/100

44 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 5 of the 22 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

United States military strikes on boats alleged to be carrying drugs may constitute crimes against humanity, according to a report by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul. The report, which examined at least 68 strikes conducted since September 2025 that resulted in at least 223 deaths, concluded that these actions are unjustifiable under international law.

Saul, who is also chair of international law at the University of Sydney, stated that the US attacks are contrary to international law and violate the human right to life. He found reasonable grounds to believe the strikes constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law, defining murder as the unlawful killing of a person where the perpetrator intended to cause death or knew it would occur. The US administration has claimed the strikes are in self-defence against narco-terrorists, but Saul's report rejects this, stating the US has not presented evidence of an imminent armed attack from the targeted boats and that the military's actions were disproportionate.

Disagreement on justification for strikes

The US administration claims the strikes are in self-defence against narco-terrorists, with the White House having invoked the Alien Enemies Act to proclaim Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua engaged in an 'invasion' and 'irregular warfare' against the US through drug transport. However, UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul stated in his report that the US attacks are unjustifiable under international humanitarian law, international law of the sea, international counterterrorism law, and narcotics suppression conventions. Saul also noted that drug trafficking is not equivalent to a military attack.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mention the three additional vessels that have sunk under suspicious circumstances, which were raised as concerns in the UN report. The centre-rated digests do not mention these suspicious sinkings either.

Tags:#UN#UnitedStates#HumanRights#InternationalLaw#CrimesAgainstHumanity#MaritimeSecurity

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 22 Sept 2026, 12:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

14 rated outlets

  • Eleven left-rated reports led on the UN Special Rapporteur's conclusion that US strikes on alleged drug boats may constitute crimes against humanity. CBC News, in its full report, quoted Ben Saul stating, 'The United States military attacks are … contrary to international law, violate the human right to life and plausibly constitute crimes against humanity.' Al Jazeera and La Opinion also highlighted the UN's statement that the attacks may be crimes against humanity. We Got This Covered and Common Dreams quoted the UN expert's assertion that the attacks amount to 'serial extrajudicial killings' and dismissed US claims of self-defence. Truthout reported that the UN found the strikes violate international law and are 'plausibly' crimes against humanity, adding that the US must prosecute those responsible. Fakti.bg and NRC Handelsblad also focused on the UN's determination that the strikes may be crimes against humanity and violate international law. Outlook India and Dnevni list Danas reported that the UN expert said the strikes could be crimes against humanity, with Outlook India noting 223 people killed across at least 68 vessels. ABC Australia reported that the strikes amount to extrajudicial murders violating international, maritime, and humanitarian law.

Centre

3 rated outlets

  • Three centre-rated reports highlighted the UN Special Rapporteur's warning that US strikes on suspected drug boats could amount to crimes against humanity. TRT World and UPI reported that Ben Saul raised concerns over the legality of the strikes. BBC News stated that a report said the attacks, of which there have been at least 68, were not self-defence.

Right

5 rated outlets

  • Four right-rated reports focused on the UN's assessment that US attacks on alleged drug boats may be crimes against humanity. Anadolu Ajansı and Reformatorisch Dagblad reported that Ben Saul raised concerns over alleged covert operations and foreign drone flights in Mexico, in addition to the strikes. News-pravda.com stated that the UN recognised the attacks as a violation of international law and crimes against humanity. Dagelijksestandaard.nl reported that the attacks violate international law and may qualify as crimes against humanity.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity?
Of the 22 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 64% are rated left, 13% are rated centre, 23% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 44. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 22 rated outlets on this story, 64% are rated left, 13% are rated centre, 23% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity biased?
UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity is one event reported by 44 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered UN expert: US boat strikes may be crimes against humanity?
44 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What has the UN Special Rapporteur concluded about US strikes on drug boats?
UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul has concluded that US military strikes on boats alleged to be carrying drugs may constitute crimes against humanity. His report states these attacks are unjustifiable under international law and violate the human right to life.
How many strikes and deaths are attributed to the US campaign?
According to the UN report, there have been at least 68 US military strikes since September 2025, resulting in at least 223 deaths. The report finds reasonable grounds to believe these constituted crimes against humanity.
Does the UN report accept the US claim of self-defence?
No, the UN report rejects the US administration's claim that the strikes are in self-defence against narco-terrorists. Ben Saul stated that the US has not presented evidence of an imminent armed attack from the targeted boats and that the military's actions were disproportionate.

Read it at the source

44 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

14
Show 6 more

Centre

3

Right

5

Not rated

22
Show 14 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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