FEARFUL FISHERS

With news emerging on Friday that the United States forces carried out another strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel off the Venezuelan coast, local fishers have differing views on how this is likely to affect them.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike on Friday via his “Department of War” X account, stating that four individuals were killed. The operation marked the fifth such strike in a month, bringing the reported death toll to at least 21.

The US says the targeted small vessel was transporting large quantities of narcotics and was operating in international waters off Venezuela. According to Hegseth, the drugs were “headed to America to poison our people”, and the individuals killed were labeled as “narco-terrorists”.

For some Jamaican fishers, like Roy from the Pedro Bank area, the news feels distant and irrelevant.

“It nuh trouble mi because wi nah fish over deh suh. We a hook and line man. Wi only guh from Pedro Bank. Wi don’t guh further than there,” he told The Gleaner yesterday. “Wi nuh deal wid drugs. Yeah, hook and line we deal wid. We not going where those things going on.”

Roy also dismissed concerns about the proximity of the strikes.

“Dem nuh inna Caribbean water. Dem not in the Caribbean water, man. I hear about it still, you know, but they are not in the Caribbean water,” he said.

UNEASY

However, other fishers are more uneasy, fearing the consequences of being mistakenly identified.

“The fact that you can just deh out a sea and a missile can just drop inna you boat and you hear seh you a drugs boat or you involved is a problem,” said one fisherman preparing for a trip at the Greenwich Farm Fishing Village.

Richard, another local fisherman, voiced deeper concerns about the lack of guidance from Jamaican authorities.

“You could end up somewhere and some missile just fly and hit you because you are suspected of or you may seem to pass Venezuela strait or Trinidad strait. That’s what it’s all about – controlling the power and that’s what it is,” he told The Gleaner.

“The fisherfolk are getting the bad end of it because if any of us go out there and by whatever means [stray] and the battleship weh dem have inna di waters right now, [mi] feel like is a threat ... . They will do something foolish like that and Jamaica don’t really have the kinda governmental power to deal with that. The Government is the one that should be giving guidelines and say since they are doing that over there make sure the fisherfolk don’t pass this strait here suh.”

He added that the Government should be providing clear guidelines to prevent Jamaican fishers from accidentally entering danger zones.

“None of those concerns have been addressed,” said Richard.

Fisheries Minister Floyd Green declined to comment when contacted by The Gleaner yesterday.

Jamaican fishers have also, at times, drifted into foreign territorial waters after spending extended periods at sea and experiencing mechanical failures with their boats. Over the past decade, Jamaicans in distress have been rescued by authorities and civilians from Colombia, Honduras, and other countries.

Now, with heightened military activity and the risk of being mistaken for suspects, some fear that accepting help from vessels flagged by the United States could make them inadvertent casualties in a broader conflict. It’s a troubling state of affairs, several fishers told The Gleaner.

ESCALATION

Friday’s strike comes amid a significant escalation in US policy. The Trump administration recently informed Congress that it now considers itself to be in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. A leaked memo described the conflict as “non-international” and cartels have been designated as terrorist organisations.

Despite the strong rhetoric, the US has not released any evidence supporting its claims about the vessel’s occupants or the nature of its cargo.

The Pentagon has labelled those targeted as “unlawful combatants” and defended the operations as self-defence, though legal experts have questioned the legality of such strikes under international law.

Jamaica has not yet issued any official statement on the matter. However, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has expressed support for the US operations and military presence in the region.

Hegseth warned in his social media post on Friday that the strikes “will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!”

karen.madden@gleanerjm.com