Despite a near-total lack of transparency from the Trump administration, new reporting is emerging that provides important insights into the financial, human, and moral costs of U.S. boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Research published this week from the Costs of War Project found that the administration’s military operations in Latin America have cost taxpayers at least $4.7 billion to date.
As the authors rightly note, “American taxpayers, who are increasingly unable to afford basic needs, have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent.”
We also have a right to know who our government is killing with those tax dollars.
While U.S. officials claim to be targeting so-called “narcoterrorists,” they have provided no information about the actual identities of those killed, showing them only as nameless, AI-generated cartoon villains.
But the limited reporting that has emerged paints a far different picture of the people being killed and terrorized in these strikes.
This week, The Guardian published a horrifying account from the survivors of a strike on an Ecuadorian fishing boat.
“What they did to us was very cruel,” said one of the victims, Jhonny Sebastián Palacios.
“I get scared in the middle of the night. I can’t sleep well. My ears still hurt,” Palacios continued. “I thought they were going to kill us.”
While many questions remain unanswered, what’s clear is that our government is illegally and systematically killing civilians thousands of miles away from the U.S., on the mere suspicion that they may be committing crimes.
That’s murder, regardless of any of the victims’ alleged involvement in crimes, and we must continue to sound the alarm.
This week, we joined a coalition of 125 organizations from around the world calling on all governments to halt any support that could facilitate these strikes.
The international community – and the U.S. Congress — must act urgently to stop this shameful and senseless killing.
Elsewhere
War on Iran exposes instability of energy system
The U.S.-Israel war on Iran has continued, with a tenuous ceasefire and continued votes from champions of peace in the Senate seeking to end it.
FCNL’s new lobbyist on climate and energy, Jeffrey Jordan, broke down the energy impact of the war. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the brittleness of the fossil fuel infrastructure. As Jeffrey put it, “Society cannot build a stable and equitable future on unstable and inequitable energy systems.”
Investing in renewable energy is not only a moral imperative, but vital for national security and the flourishing of the world we seek.
Procedural vote to fund immigration enforcement
Senate Republicans voted this week to abandon bipartisan negotiations which would have placed restrictions on ICE and Customs and Border Patrol in exchange for funding. Instead, they forced through a bill which would increase funding for these rogue agencies for the next three years, with no accountability mechanisms. This legislation now goes to the House.
As the budget process progresses, our message remains the same: we need policies rooted in dignity, accountability, and the protection of our communities.
Join Ecumenical Lobby Summit for Palestine
FCNL is joining the call from Churches for Middle East Peace. They are bringing together Christians and people of goodwill to come to Washington to speak up for justice and human rights for all in Israel/Palestine and the Middle East. We’re gathering to lobby Congress here in DC from May 5-7.
Trump Administration tries to silence SPLC
The Department of Justice indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center this week in a brazen attempt to punish the organization for its work investigating and exposing hate groups. This is part of a pattern in the Trump administration of attacking civil society organizations.
FCNL was proud to join with a broad coalition of faith organizations last year to speak up for freedom of speech and nonprofit independence. We must bear witness to the vital role of the nonprofit sector in the difficult work we face of promoting and protecting our democracy.
