Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break
The United Kingdom has stopped sharing intelligence with the United States on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The decision comes as the UK seeks to avoid complicity in US military strikes it believes are illegal.
This move marks a major break with the US, its closest ally, and highlights growing concerns over the legality of America’s military operations in Latin America.
For years, the UK—controlling several Caribbean territories with intelligence assets—helped the US locate vessels suspected of transporting drugs. This allowed the US Coast Guard to interdict the ships: stopping them, detaining crews, and seizing narcotics. Intelligence was typically sent to the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Florida, a multi-national effort to reduce illicit drug trafficking.
However, after the US began conducting lethal strikes on suspected traffickers in September, the UK grew concerned its intelligence might be used to select targets. The strikes have killed 76 people, according to sources, who said British officials view these actions as violations of international law. The UK paused intelligence sharing over a month ago.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said last month that the strikes violate international law and amount to “extrajudicial killing.” The UK shares that assessment, the sources told CNN.
Neither the British embassy in Washington nor the White House responded to requests for comment. A Pentagon official told CNN the department “doesn’t talk about intelligence matters.”
Before the US military began targeting vessels, countering drug trafficking was handled by law enforcement and the Coast Guard. Traffickers were treated as criminals with due process—a system the UK supported.
President Trump’s administration argues that the US military can legally strike suspected traffickers because they are “enemy combatants” in an “armed conflict” and pose an imminent threat to Americans. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a classified opinion supporting this interpretation. Trump has also designated several drug cartels as “foreign terrorist groups.” The White House says its operations “comply fully with the Law of Armed Conflict,” which is meant to protect civilians.
Legal experts, however, say that civilians involved in drug trafficking are still protected under the Law of Armed Conflict, and that designating a group as a terrorist organization does not automatically authorize lethal force. Several vessels struck by the US were stationary or turning around, raising doubts about whether the attacks were necessary to prevent imminent harm.
Senior US defense officials have expressed doubts as well. Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of US Southern Command, reportedly offered to resign after questioning the legality of the strikes. He will leave his post in December, one year into his tenure. Lawyers within the Department of Defense’s Office of General Counsel have also raised concerns about the strikes’ legality, though Pentagon officials have denied any dissent.
Canada, another longtime US ally involved in interdiction operations in the Caribbean, has also distanced itself from the military strikes. Sources told CNN that while Canada will continue cooperating with the Coast Guard under Operation Caribbean, it does not want its intelligence used to target vessels for lethal strikes. A Canadian defense spokesperson told the press last month that Canadian operations “are separate and distinct” from US military actions.
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