The U.S. military strike against an alleged drug-transporting boat off the coast of Venezuela was unlawful, according to CERL Advisory Council Member Mary Ellen O’Connell in an opinion for The Conversation. The United States is party to a human rights treaty that sets out the “inherent right to life” in times of peace, as well as several bilateral treaties governing cooperation in the interception of illegal drugs.     

Mary Ellen O’Connell is the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution—Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. Read her bio here.    

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