By Darius Spearman (africanelements)

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On February 16, 2026, a United States military strike destroyed a small vessel in the Caribbean Sea. This operation resulted in the deaths of three individuals. United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) described the event as a routine kinetic strike against narco-terrorists. However, this incident has sparked intense debate across the region. Local leaders and international observers are raising serious questions about the use of force. They also question the proof of criminal activity and the safety of civilians in these waters (democracynow.org).

This event is the latest in a series of escalations under Operation Southern Spear. This campaign began in late 2025 and represents a major change in how the United States handles drug trafficking. Historically, the "War on Drugs" was a law enforcement issue. It involved agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Coast Guard. Today, the military is taking a leading role. This shift has changed the rules of engagement on the high seas. Many people in the African diaspora view these developments with great concern. They see a connection between these strikes and the history of involuntary servitude after emancipation where Black bodies are constantly monitored and controlled by the state.

The history of the "War on Drugs" began over fifty years ago. President Richard Nixon first declared this war in 1971. He called drug abuse "public enemy number one." At that time, the goal was to stop drugs from entering the country through policing and education (britannica.com). Over the decades, the policy became more aggressive. In the 1980s and 1990s, the United States military began to support law enforcement with intelligence and surveillance. Key events included the 1989 invasion of Panama and the launch of Plan Colombia in 2000. These actions moved the conflict closer to a military struggle (wola.org).

In August 2025, the policy took a radical turn. President Donald Trump signed a secret directive that authorized the Pentagon to use lethal force against drug cartels. The administration designated groups like the "Cartel of the Suns" and "Tren de Aragua" as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). This legal label is very powerful. It allows the government to treat criminal suspects like enemy soldiers (dni.gov). This shift moved the conflict from a domestic law enforcement problem to a "non-international armed conflict" (NIAC). Under this new framework, the military can use missiles and drones instead of making arrests (ccdcoe.org).

Source: Compiled Military Reports (silobreaker.com, undrr.org)

The February 16 strike was part of Operation Southern Spear. This campaign uses high-tech tools to target boats in the Caribbean. Unlike older methods that involved boarding vessels, this operation relies on "lethal kinetic strikes" from a distance. The military uses F-35 stealth fighters and Reaper drones to carry out these attacks. These tools are often guided by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Platforms like Palantir and Anthropic’s Claude help commanders decide when to strike (globalpolicyjournal.com). The speed of these decisions is much faster than in the past. This process is known as the "sensor-to-shooter" cycle.

Critics argue that this reliance on technology creates a danger for innocent people. AI systems can have "algorithmic bias." This means they might misidentify a simple fishing boat as a "narco-vessel" based on its shape or location. In the Caribbean, many people rely on small boats for their livelihood. This is especially true for Afro-Caribbean maritime workers. There is a concern that these algorithms are trained on data that reflects racial stereotypes. When commanders trust the machine over visual confirmation, mistakes happen. These mistakes have led to the deaths of civilians who were simply fishing (aclu.org). These issues are a critical part of Black Studies academic disciplines because they show how technology can reinforce old patterns of inequality.

The intensity of these strikes increased after a major political event. On January 3, 2026, U.S. Delta Force captured Nicolás Maduro in an operation called "Absolute Resolve" (dni.gov). Following his capture, the United States initiated a maritime blockade of Venezuela. The goal is to control regional oil trade routes and pressure the remaining leadership. The boat strikes are a key part of this "maximum pressure" strategy. President Trump has suggested that American companies will eventually help rehabilitate the oil infrastructure in Venezuela. This has led some to believe the "War on Drugs" is a cover for economic and political goals (wola.org).

Regional leaders have reacted with anger to these actions. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has condemned the use of "disproportionate force." He argues that these strikes do not solve the root causes of drug trafficking. Instead, they create more violence in the region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has also voiced concerns. He labeled the strikes as "unacceptable extrajudicial killings." This means people are being killed without a trial or any legal process. For many in the region, this feels like a return to older forms of imperialism. It ignores the complex Afro-Latin history that has shaped the Caribbean for centuries.

By 1997, drug-related incarceration in the U.S. rose from 50,000 to 400,000. Critics argue today's "kinetic strikes" export this same logic of criminalization to the high seas (smallwarsjournal.com).

One of the biggest criticisms of the February 16 strike is the lack of evidence. SOUTHCOM justifies these actions based on "intelligence" that suggests vessels are on trafficking routes. However, these kinetic strikes usually result in the complete destruction of the boat and everything on it. This makes it impossible to recover any drugs as evidence. In many cases, no narcotics have ever been found after a strike (democracynow.org). This creates a "intelligence gap" where the military asks the public to trust them without providing forensic proof.

This lack of proof has led to legal challenges. In October 2025, families of two men from Trinidad and Tobago filed a lawsuit against the United States. They claim their relatives were simple fishermen, not terrorists or drug traffickers. These families argue that the military killed their loved ones without any proof of a crime. The United States government often uses "sovereign immunity" to avoid these lawsuits. This legal rule protects the government from being sued for its military actions. However, lawyers are using the Alien Tort Statute and the Death on the High Seas Act to push for justice (aclu.org). These cases are testing whether the military can be held accountable for its actions in international waters.

The current policy of maritime strikes bypasses many international legal norms. Under normal circumstances, law enforcement must follow the "Right to Life." This means lethal force should only be used as a last resort when there is an immediate threat to life. International experts say these strikes are "unlawful killings" because they happen without a trial (ohchr.org). The United States justifies these actions using the "Unwilling or Unable" doctrine. This theory claims that if a country like Venezuela cannot or will not stop a threat, the United States has the right to step in and use force (atu.ac.ir).

Critics argue that this doctrine is being misapplied. Usually, it is used for self-defense against groups like ISIS that pose a direct threat of war. Cartel members are motivated by profit, not politics. Treating them like "unlawful combatants" removes their civil rights. This legal shift collapses the line between policing and warfare. It allows the military to treat suspicion as guilt. For people living in the Caribbean, this means the sea has become a war zone. They are caught between powerful cartels and a military that uses "kinetic results" as its primary measure of success (guide-humanitarian-law.org).

Studies suggest AI-driven targeting relies on datasets that disproportionately flag vessels belonging to Afro-Caribbean populations (aclu.org, globalpolicyjournal.com).

The human cost of these strikes falls heavily on Afro-Caribbean populations. Since September 2025, over 134 people have died in these maritime operations (silobreaker.com). Many of these victims were maritime workers from Jamaica, Trinidad, and other Caribbean nations. Human rights organizations like the ACLU have pointed out a pattern of "racial profiling" in these operations. They argue that the military views small boats with Black and Brown crews with more suspicion than others. This is a form of international over-policing that mirrors the high rates of incarceration in the United States (aclu.org).

This situation has created a "continuum of force" that affects the entire diaspora. In the United States, Black and Latino people are incarcerated for drug offenses at much higher rates than white people. Now, that same logic is being used to justify lethal strikes in the Caribbean. Scholars call this the "Mass Incarceration of Nations." It prioritizes criminalization over public health and human rights. The families left behind by these strikes often have no way to get information about what happened to their loved ones. They are left to mourn in the shadow of a military operation that treats their lives as "collateral damage." The struggle for justice in these cases is a reminder of the long history of medical experimentation and state violence that has targeted Black people for centuries.

The strike on February 16, 2026, is a sign of a massive shift in American foreign policy. By combining the "War on Terror" with the "War on Drugs," the United States has created a new precedent for military action. This policy values "kinetic results" over traditional legal norms and human rights. It uses high-tech AI and lethal force to achieve political and economic goals in the Western Hemisphere. While the government claims these actions make the world safer, the rising death toll in the Caribbean tells a different story (wola.org).

The families of the victims and regional leaders are not staying silent. They are challenging these strikes in court and in the court of public opinion. They are asking why the military is allowed to kill without proof and why civilian safety is being ignored. As the United States continues Operation Southern Spear, the international community must grapple with the consequences of an "unlimited license to kill" on the high seas. This is not just a battle over drugs; it is a battle for the fundamental right to life and justice in the Caribbean (guide-humanitarian-law.org).

Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.