On Sept. 2, 2025, the U.S. began the first of nearly three dozen attacks on boats that were allegedly involved with the narcotics trade off the coast of Venezuela. The Pentagon has released few details about the aircraft used in these operations, but at least on that first mission on Sept. 2, the aircraft was disguised as civilian. There were 11 people killed in that strike, including 2 survivors who were clinging to wreckage floating in the water, who were killed in a controversial “double tap,” second attack. The Air Force has a fleet of disguised aircraft, so this plane was not repainted for this mission. Many in the intelligence community have criticized the decision to expose these covert assets for such a low-level operation which targeted “civilians in a boat who pose no threat.”
Legal experts told the Washington Post that exploiting civilian protected status in order to carry out a military strike with intent to kill or wound a target is called “perfidy” under the law of armed conflict. These legal experts say that it is a war crime. Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised U.S. Special Operations forces said: “If you arm these aircraft for self-defense purposes, that would not be a violation. But using it as an offensive platform and relying on its civilian appearance to gain the confidence of the enemy is.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who is not a lawyer, created much of the legal foundation of the administration’s entire Venezuela “drug boat” campaign. Miller was instrumental in drafting a presidential directive, later signed by the President, that authorized lethal military action against over 20 alleged foreign criminal organizations. A former official has identified this classified presidential directive as “the original sin” of the entire military campaign off the coast of Venezuela, according to a Dec. 18, 2025 report in the Washington Post.
