State Department Tells Human Rights Watchdog to Ignore Trump’s Extrajudicial Killings

The U.S. State Department is pressuring the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to avoid investigating the Trump administration's extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott instructed the IACHR to focus on decades-old petitions instead of the boat strikes, which have killed almost 170 civilians since September 2025 under Operation Southern Spear. This pressure comes as the U.S. is the largest financial contributor to the IACHR's parent organization, the OAS, and has previously cut IACHR funding. U.S. lawmakers and human rights groups, including the ACLU, argue an IACHR investigation is crucial for accountability regarding these lethal strikes, which they contend violate international law. Despite calls for an investigation, IACHR President Stuardo Ralón stated the commission does not conduct investigations and has not taken steps towards the ACLU's requests.