this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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Interior minister says ‘murder has been committed’ amid rising tensions over US military strike on boat in Caribbean

None of the 11 people killed in a US military strike on a boat in the Caribbean last week were members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s interior minister has said, as the South American country deployed troops amid heightened tensions with the US.

The administration of Donald Trump has said the boat was transporting illegal narcotics, but has provided scant further information about the incident, even amid demands from members of the US Congress for a justification for the action.

“They openly confessed to killing 11 people,” the interior minister and ruling party head, Diosdado Cabello, said on state television. “We have done our investigations here in our country and there are the families of the disappeared people who want their relatives, and when we asked in the towns, none were from Tren de Aragua, none were drug traffickers.

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[–] Korne127@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Collateral murder, just that it's not leaked but openly posted and there is basically no outcry

[–] Korne127@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Paul has argued the US cannot simply kill people suspected of wrongdoing without due process

The fact that this is a real sentence in a real news article is honestly beyond insane.

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 196 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Even if they WERE gang members, civilized nations do not shoot civilians.

They could have boarded the ship and detained them, but they chose violence.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 92 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

They even admitted they could've interdicted the boat, but chose to kill them instead.

It was 100% absolutely, unquestionably a war crime.

And even if Trump is immune, the rest of those involved are NOT. Some of them are lawyering up, because war crimes can carry a death penalty.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 16 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Is it still a war crime without a war? I'm not trying to split hairs or justify the crime, just wondering about definitions. A quick search didn't really clarify it. Violation of international law, absolutely. And who would prosecute? I don't think the US has allowed itself to be subjugated to any international court.

[–] krakenfury@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 3 weeks ago

You're correct, the ICC's jurisdiction has never been recognized by the US, or a bunch of other countries for that matter. They could still prosecute individuals and convict them, but the US wouldn't hand them over, and it's not likely that anyone would attempt to come get them.

There is a pretty large number of ICC fugatives from all over the world, notably Russian and Israeli officials. Afaik, France and the UK are the only two UN members with veto power that recognize the ICC's official jurisdiction.

[–] DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

It technically may not even be a breach of international law, since the US is one of the few countries that did not ratify UNCLOS, the law that would apply in international waters. The US was evil for a long time and refused to sign anything that would hold them even symbolically accountable. This did not start with Trump. He just went mask off.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Only one soldier ever faced consequences for the My Lai massacre and he only got three and a half years of house arrest, so it’s not like we care that much about war crimes anyway.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 52 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

The only person in Washington talking sense about this is... Wait, let me double check. Uh, yea it's Rand Paul.

[–] smeenz@lemmy.nz 14 points 3 weeks ago

You know things are bad when the voice of reason is Rand Paul

[–] CircaV@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago

That Rand Paul is the voice of reason bodes very very badly.

[–] frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io 44 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I know they're probably full of shit like any corrupt politicians, but it's nice to have them fight back. Even if they were convicted gang members, the US murdered all of them. I hope they spend the next few years fucking with this administration as much as possible. We need to get back to that place where locals fling shoes at our politicians, because we suck and need to back the fuck off.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 35 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The thing with blowing them up instead of taking them into custody, is that there is no evidence to prove the allegations against them. They blew it up. If they really wanted to justify their actions, this was not the way.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

We know they probably weren't just speedboat enthusiasts but blowing the boat up sets a precedent for extrajudicial killing without first establishing guilt.

Of course, this had nothing to do with justice, it was only about sending a very visual message to the other cartels that only US backed cartels are allowed.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago

Given that Venezuela has chronic shortages of almost everything, these days...it's entirely possible they were smugglers. But they could have been smuggling anything from mail-order packages, to cash, or even medicine. We'll never know now.

[–] commander@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This will just motivate Venezuela to hurry around their military modernization effort possibly with a lot more public support than before

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

I don't trust Trump about this, but I trust Venezuela about as much as I trust Trump.

[–] forrgott@lemmy.zip 24 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Eh, Trump is absolute bottom of my list. Even if it's by a barely measurable amount, I trust everyone more than Trump. No exceptions.

[–] flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Just because you haven't heard as much from Nicolas Maduro. Maduro's (lack of) connection to reality is similar to Trump's. In a slightly different world they would be best buddies.

[–] forrgott@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

No

I meant what I said, to and frankly can do without the insulting tone.

[–] Sumocat@lemmy.world 21 points 3 weeks ago

All else being equal, the guy who destroys all the evidence is less trustworthy.

[–] Willy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago

have you heard why there were 11 drug dealers together on a small boat and where they were supposed to be going?

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

when we asked in the towns, none were from Tren de Aragua, none were drug traffickers

Both sides provided "trust me, bro" as their proof.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ok but the usa is the one who attacked so they are the one who has to provide evident. Venezuela doesn't have to prove anything

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Even if they were gang members smuggling drugs, that's still not how the law is dealt in the civilized world. They're still civilians and it's still murder.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Agree i only debated that part of your previous comment Both sides provided "trust me, bro" as their proof.

There is only one side who should provide proofs with is the USA

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I mean obviously Trump and his goons are full of shit but so is Maduro. Is the any actual information about who these murder victims were and what they were doing? Just curious…

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 26 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Doesn't matter. It's a war crime either way.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Like I said I’m just curious. Although there is no war so I think mass murder is maybe a more appropriate term?

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It is a war crime as defined by the International Court. You don't have to be in a formal war to commit a war crime.

[–] smeenz@lemmy.nz 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Doesn't matter if it's a war crime if there's no way to prosecute anyone.

[–] zrst@lemmy.cif.su 0 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, but it makes the poster feel good about himself.

[–] zrst@lemmy.cif.su -5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

It does matter, actually.

First off, war crimes don't matter. Saying something is a "war crime" is akin to saying "and they got away with it." Just look at Ukraine and Israel.

Second, if these people were gangbangers, they deserved what they got.

Gangbangers are the dredge of human society and anyone who defends them is a child who should not be taken seriously.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

So let's support the murder of all usa politicians reponsible for the genocide in gaza. This is how dumb your logic is

[–] SpookyLights@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

Anyone who says "gangbanger" unironically is a child who should not be taken seriously. Anyone who defends unlawful murder of civilians is a child who shouldn't be taken seriously. Anyone who says that war crimes "don't matter" is a child who shouldn't be taken seriously.

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

....and the right says "well it was the liberals' fault so can you blame us??"

[–] FuckFascism@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Big fucking surprise.