Sources Say US Disguised Plane in First Boat Strike

Sources say the Trump administration's first lethal strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean used a secret aircraft painted to pass as a civilian plane, a choice that legal experts say may have crossed the line into a war crime. According to officials briefed on the Sept. 2 operation who spoke to the New York Times, the aircraft carried its weapons hidden inside the fuselage and was not painted in standard military gray or marked as a warplane. It reportedly flew low enough that those on the boat could see it; the vessel turned back toward Venezuela after the plane appeared, before being hit by a missile that killed most of those on board. Two survivors were later seen waving from wreckage before a second strike killed them and sank the remains.

The US military has since shifted to using clearly military aircraft, such as MQ-9 Reaper drones, in similar missions. The attack is drawing scrutiny because US officials have justified the series of 35 boat strikes, which have killed at least 123 people, by asserting that President Trump designated a "noninternational armed conflict," or war against a nonstate actor, between the United States and a classified list of drug cartels and gangs. Under that theory, people on the boats are treated as combatants rather than civilians, leading some to call attention to the laws of war. Experts say disguising a combat aircraft as civilian to gain an advantage could constitute "perfidy"—a war crime involving tricking enemies into letting their guard down by pretending not to be military, then attacking.

"Shielding your identity is an element of perfidy," said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Steven J. Lepper, who argued that if the plane's appearance misled those on the boat into not taking evasive action, the strike violated the law of war. Others, including a former Navy JAG officer, said broadcasting a military transponder code would not be enough to deem the situation not a war crime, assuming those on the boat had no way to detect it. The Pentagon declined to discuss the specific aircraft but said all platforms undergo legal review; the White House did not comment. See the Times' full article here.