The British government has suspended intelligence sharing with the United States over growing concerns that President Donald Trump’s recent military operations in the Caribbean may have

violated international law.

For years, the UK has supplied intelligence to assist American forces in tracking vessels suspected of drug trafficking across the Caribbean. However, officials in London have now withdrawn cooperation following a series of deadly strikes carried out by U.S. forces in international waters.

In one high-profile incident in September, a U.S. strike targeting an alleged Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, killed 11 people. The gang is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by Washington. The operation, which took place outside any nation’s territorial waters, sparked immediate scrutiny over its legality.

Speaking afterward, Trump defended the actions, saying: “Obviously, they won’t do it again. There were massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people, and everybody fully understands that.”

Since then, similar U.S. operations have continued. According to CNN, at least 76 people have been killed in these strikes. Footage shared by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month showed the destruction of another vessel, which he described as being “operated by a designated terrorist organization.”

The United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the campaign, describing the attacks as “extrajudicial killings.”

British officials reportedly fear that continued intelligence sharing could make the UK complicit in what they believe are illegal military actions. A Whitehall source told CNN that London’s position reflects “serious legal and ethical concerns.”

The U.S. government has declined to comment on the intelligence freeze, in keeping with its longstanding policy of not discussing classified operations.

Trump’s decision earlier this year to deploy military assets in the Caribbean marked a sharp break from traditional counter-narcotics practices, which typically rely on joint Coast Guard and law enforcement operations to intercept and seize drug shipments.

In contrast, the new approach appears far more aggressive. “Blow them up, get rid of them,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in September, describing the administration’s evolving strategy.

Legal experts have warned that such actions breach the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea — an agreement the U.S. has never ratified. The treaty prohibits interference with vessels in international waters except in limited circumstances, such as “hot pursuit,” and even then, it restricts the use of lethal force.

With tensions rising between Washington and London, the halt in intelligence sharing marks one of the most significant rifts in the U.S.-UK security partnership in recent years. Photo by Security Service, Wikimedia commons.