Rights Groups Demand Stronger Congressional Action Over Trump 'Murder' on High Seas

Human rights groups are demanding that the US Congress intervene to bring an end to President Donald Trump's boat-bombing spree.

Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday released statements condemning the Trump administration for launching more military strikes on purported drug trafficking boats, and they called on US lawmakers to assert their powers over American foreign policy to restrain the White House.

Daphne Eviatar, director of security and human rights for Amnesty International USA, argued that the administration does not seem at all deterred by potential congressional probes of its policies, and urged lawmakers to take a more aggressive approach.

"This ramping up of the bombing campaign despite increased pressure from Congress signals the administration’s total disregard for the law," said Eviatar. "Congress must do everything in its power to rein in this administration’s lawless behavior. Congress must exercise its oversight power to ask how these decisions are made, what intelligence is being used, and what the legal justification the administration is claiming and push back forcefully on these illegal actions."

Eviatar emphasized that the administration's killings "amount to extrajudicial executions, a form of murder, in clear violation of both domestic and international law," while adding that the administration has legal methods at its disposal to intercept suspected drug boats that don't involve slaughtering everyone onboard.

HRW, meanwhile, released a lengthy analysis breaking down the illegality of the Trump boat strikes, while also demanding Congress use its oversight powers to hold administration officials accountable for lawbreaking.

"Congress should intervene urgently," the group declared. "The administration’s lethal boat strikes, conducted without a clear legal basis and outside any armed conflict, demand immediate congressional scrutiny."

HRW also outlined actions that Congress should take, including forcing the White House to release its full legal justification for the bombing campaign, holding public hearings and demanding testimony from top officials, establishing a select committee with subpoena power to investigate the attacks, and setting aside funds to pay out as compensation to the families of the people killed by the strikes.

With Monday's attacks, the death toll from the administration's boat-bombing campaign, which began in September, now stands at at least 95 people.

The human rights groups' calls for great congressional intervention come as the Congressional Progressive Caucus is urging their colleagues to support resolutions aimed at blocking Trump from launching a war with Venezuela without congressional approval.

The first resolution would require Trump to "remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with any presidentially designated terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere, unless authorized by a declaration of war or a specific congressional authorization for use of military force."

A second resolution supported by the caucus "directs the president to remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force."