US Disguised Plane Strike on Drug Boat Raises Perfidy Concerns

The U.S. military carried out its first strike in a campaign against suspected drug-smuggling boats on September 2 in the Caribbean Sea, using an aircraft disguised to resemble a civilian plane, according to officials briefed on the operation. The attack killed 11 people aboard the vessel, which had turned back toward Venezuela after spotting the low-flying aircraft.

Officials described the plane as lacking typical military gray paint and markings, with munitions concealed inside its fuselage rather than mounted visibly under the wings. This approach allowed the aircraft to appear nonthreatening as it approached close enough for those on the boat to observe it. The vessel, targeted as part of efforts to disrupt narcotics trafficking, was hit by missiles in an initial strike that left two survivors clinging to wreckage. Surveillance video reviewed by officials showed the survivors waving at the aircraft before a follow-up strike sank the remnants and killed them.

Legal experts have raised concerns that the disguise violated international laws of armed conflict by employing perfidy, a prohibited tactic where combatants feign protected civilian status to deceive adversaries and...