Catholic Leader Raises Alarms Over Ethics of U.S. Caribbean Boat Strikes

A growing controversy over U.S. military boat strikes in the Caribbean has drawn a sharp moral response from Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and serves as Archbishop for the Military Services. His December 3, 2025 statement challenges the legality and ethics of the operations, which have killed more than 87 people aboard vessels suspected of drug trafficking.

Broglio’s message centers on a foundational claim: every person, regardless of accusations or wrongdoing, is entitled to due process and must be treated as a human being with inherent dignity. He points to reports that survivors of boat strikes—individuals categorized as hors de combat under the U.S. Law of War Manual—may have been intentionally killed despite posing no immediate threat. Such actions, he argues, are not only contrary to Catholic moral teaching but also violate U.S. legal standards governing the use of force.

The Archbishop’s warning goes beyond condemning the strikes themselves. He underscores that service members cannot be compelled to carry out orders that violate their conscience or established moral principles. Safeguarding the integrity of U.S. forces, he says, requires ensuring that military personnel are never asked to participate in extrajudicial violence.

His statement also raises broader questions about America’s moral direction. The United States has long portrayed itself as a defender of the oppressed and a nation committed to lawful restraint. Disregarding due process in anti-drug operations, Broglio cautions, risks eroding that reputation and undermines the country’s witness to human rights.

A key passage from his statement reads: “It would be an illegal and immoral order to kill deliberately survivors on a vessel who pose no immediate lethal threat to our armed forces… Show the world our respect for human dignity and the rule of law.”

 As Christians who believe every life has worth and that justice requires truth and accountability, these events force us to consider how a nation grounded in moral principles responds when government actions appear to disregard human dignity.