Hello folks, sharing my interview with Russia Today (RT) on the U.S. strike in the southern Caribbean that reportedly hit a boat allegedly “linked” to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, killing 11. Washington frames it as “fighting drug cartels.” But that’s precisely the frame the ICC uses to prosecute former President Rodrigo Duterte for the “drug war” in the Philippines during his time. If the standard is due process and human rights, why does it evaporate when the U.S. acts outside its own borders?
Let’s be clear: U.S. officials condemned alleged extrajudicial killings in Manila and cheered ICC accountability for Duterte. Yet they now assert a global license to kill suspected traffickers at sea—without trial, beyond U.S. territory, and with little publicly presented evidence. Meanwhile, Washington praises the ICC when it targets adversaries but has attacked or undermined the Court when probes cut against close allies. That’s not rule-of-law leadership; that’s SELECTIVE LEGALITY!
Yes, lawyers will say these aren’t identical cases. Duterte faces allegations of “crimes against humanity.” A single maritime strike may not fit that category. But the core principle is the same: outside an armed conflict, lethal force must meet strict law-enforcement standards (necessity, proportionality, and genuine attempts at arrest). If this action wasn’t grounded in a clear legal basis—host-state consent, a U.N. mandate, or genuine self-defense against an imminent threat—it looks like an extrajudicial killing by any other name.
The US preached and accused Duterte of being liable for alleged human rights violations allegedly committed by Duterte during his fight against illegal drugs in his own country. Yet, the US is practicing due-process-free killings or extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean? Is this not a glaring example of hypocrisy and a double standard? It’s NOT justice! It’s geopolitics wearing legal robes or another plot of regime change.
Source: RT
