I’ve already expressed myself about the Trump Administration’s attacks on Venezuelan boat whether they’re carrying illegal narcotics or not. I’m against it but I won’t explain that again.
What I do want to remark on is something that is not being mentioned in any of the media coverage I’ve read. The odds are that at least some of the individuals on these boats are armed, they probably aren’t wearing insignia identifiable at a distance, and they probably don’t have a command structure. In other words they aren’t civilians but they aren’t soldiers, either. They’re irregulars.
The laws of war still apply to them (they’re written so as to apply to everyone) but not as civilians. And not the way they would apply to Venezuelan soldiers. That’s pretty limiting.
They can’t be tortured. They must be treated humanely if captured and they should receive fair trials. They aren’t subject to summary execution.
It’s that last bit that might render destroying those boats a war crime. That’s a pretty slender reed.
