Kaine Statement on Latest Reporting on U.S. Strikes Targeting Random Fishing Boats

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement regarding public reporting detailing a series of mysterious attacks on random fishing boats without known ties to narcotrafficking operations:

"Beginning in April, The Guardian, The New York Times and the Washington Post have published a set of stories about U.S.-connected attacks on Ecuadoran fishing boats. These attacks are separate from the U.S. military attacks carried out as part of the recently shuttered Operation Southern Spear, the campaign that struck 60+ boats in international waters, killing more than 220 people aboard. But the stories are consistent with a tragic U.S. decision to kill people in the Americas without any meaningful requirement that they are engaging in narcotrafficking operations.

"I have maintained since the beginning of these fatal boat strikes in September 2025 that they are illegal, that they are killing innocent people and that they are ineffective in reducing drug flow into the U.S. I've reached those conclusions based on extensive discussions over many months with those involved and my own in-depth review of the relevant classified documents produced by the Pentagon and Department of Justice regarding these attacks. I have stated my objections publicly during committee hearings throughout 2025 and 2026 and explained my profound opposition to this strategy in a public letter to President Trump on August 3. One day later, the Pentagon announced that it was ending Operation Southern Spear.

"Thus far, the Administration has refused to declassify virtually any of the relevant material that I've reviewed. I believe they have refused to do so because they are ashamed. The public should see the original presidential order initiating the campaign, the Department of Justice legal opinion attempting to justify fatal strikes so long as certain conditions were met, the Department of Defense order allowing fatal strikes far beyond the legal limits specified by the DOJ and all information about the strikes themselves. The Pentagon relishes showing selectively edited video of exploding boats but is deeply afraid to provide full video of attacks killing innocent people, including struggling shipwrecked sailors who had no idea that the most powerful military on earth marked them for execution.

"In response to my objections, Administration spokespeople usually refuse to provide information or blandly claim that these actions are against narcotraffickers. If that were true, they would not be so afraid to make public the documents that I've described above.

"The good news is that the Administration has now, following pressure from Congress and diligent journalists, ended the U.S. boat strike campaign. Instead, it has recently announced a new multinational counternarcotics operation in the Americas. If it's operated within the bounds of the law, that can be a very positive development. But the bloodthirsty attacks of the last year demand that all engage in serious oversight of this new strategy to make sure it meets standards that the American people expect."

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