1 of 2 | Sen. Tim Kaine on Monday said that some of those killed in U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific were not involved in drug crimes. File Photo by U.S. Southern Command/X
Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. military's strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific may have killed people not involved in drug trafficking, said Sen. Tim Kaine after reviewing classified documents on the operation.
The senior Democratic lawmaker from Virginia and a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees sent President Donald Trump a letter Monday urging him to examine whether military leaders exceeded his orders by targeting people the Justice Department did not say could be legally targeted and killed.
"And once you have done so, I urge you to halt this illegal, costly and ineffective operation," Kaine said.
Since the first strike on Sept. 2, the U.S. Southern Command has killed at least 221 people in 66 publicly acknowledged attacks, according to UPI's count based on military press releases.
