On a brisk January morning, the crew of the Fiorella went out to fish and never returned. Seven months later, their families in Ecuador are still waiting—for them, for answers, and for accountability. And they’re not alone.
Today, September 2, marks one year since the Trump administration began blowing up boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. More than 200 people have been killed. The administration admits it does not know who most of them were. Latin American journalists were able to identify twenty names, all of them coastal fishermen and farm workers, men scraping together a living to support their families.
There has been no due process and no evidence presented. The administration refuses to release the legal memo it claims justifies the killings without confirming who is on a boat or whether there are any drugs aboard, or the full videos of the strikes—including a “double tap” that killed two shipwrecked survivors of an earlier attack.
These strikes are not only illegal and immoral, but also ineffective at addressing drug trafficking. The Trump administration says the deadly strikes are to keep drugs from getting into our country. But experts say that the approach has failed to curb the flow of cocaine. Even the SOUTHCOM commander told Congress in March that the strikes “aren’t the answer” to this country’s drug problems.
Congress never authorized this campaign. But Congress is paying for it with our tax dollars. And Congress can stop it.
Take Action
Call and email your members! Ask them to do three things: (1) cut off funding for the boat strikes, (2) force the release of the legal memo and the unedited footage, and (3) hold hearings that put administration officials under oath.
📞 Look up your representative’s and two senators‘ phone numbers. Call and use this script:
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I’m a constituent from [YOUR CITY]. I’m calling about the boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific. It’s been one year since this illegal operation began. So far, 227 people have been killed without due process, and the administration admits it doesn’t even know who most of them were. Congress never authorized this campaign, but it’s costing billions of taxpayer dollars. I want [REP./SEN. NAME] to vote to cut off funding for these strikes and any operation that may replace them. I also want the administration to turn over the execute orders and the unedited videos of the strikes, along with the Justice Department legal memo justifying these strikes. And I want hearings with officials involved testifying under oath. Thank you.
✉️ Click here to send an email to your members.
Since the first strike, LAWG has called these killings what they are: extrajudicial executions. We’ve been working alongside partner organizations across the human rights, faith, and foreign policy communities to end them. We’ve been sounding the alarm since the start, and we are not going anywhere.
A year in, this does not end on its own. It ends when Congress decides to end it. Your time to act is now. Call and email your members today!
In solidarity,
Andrea for the LAWG Team
