We've been reporting on the US military boat strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea. And you've heard Belize's Foreign Minister say that CARICOM is concerned about what he calls extrajudicial attacks. When asked about it today, the US Chargé d'Affaires had a different spin: she said that the strikes are a demonstration of the level of attention the US is currently giving the illicit narcotic trade.
Katharine Beamer, US Charge d Affaires
"So that is, I think as someone who has lived and worked in the Caribbean for many years, it's certainly a change of tactic. But I think one that shows how serious the Trump administration is on combating narcotics trafficking through the Caribbean, because we we have determined that, you know, thousands of American lives have been lost due to illicit narcotics entering the United States. And we're going to devote the necessary resources to eliminating that threat."
Reporter
"Do you believe that it will cause some tension between the US and the Caribbean, considering Caricom is concerned about maintaining a zone of peace here?"
Katharine Beamer, US Charge d Affaires
"Yes. I do think that there is going to be further consultation. But as someone who has as I said, I worked in the Caribbean for many years and I know that many of the nations in the Caribbean feel ill equipped to fight these very well-resourced, and dangerous narco terrorist cartels. And so, this is the type of assistance that the United States can provide under this administration's leadership. And I think that, you know, the president's national security strategy just came out last week. I think that everybody in the Caribbean should feel relieved that there is such attention to this issue and problem because that's something that, in my opinion, has been lacking for far too long."
At least 86 people have been killed in strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats which experts call illegal killings.
