The UK’s Defence Security and Policy, Latin America and Caribbean team, a part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has told the Canary that no internal discussions AT ALL have taken place about how the US shadow war in the Caribbean has affected UK counter-drugs operations. At least not between 1 September and 21 November, when we asked. Hmm…

The Trump administration has been striking boats in the region since September. The US claims to be fighting a ‘war’ against ‘narco-terrorists’ – particularly those linked to Venezuela. Lawyers, regional alliances, and US politicians have criticised the mission. They say the operation is unlawful and really about regime change and access to Venezuelan oil.

The UK military has run joint counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean with the US for years. They have even bragged about recent seizures. And their response seems to contradict a CNN report from 12 November. The US outlet said the UK has partly suspended intelligence sharing with the US. This was because of fears UK intelligence could be used to commit war crimes. The Dutch, Canadians, and Colombians followed suit.

Those worries have been borne out in recent days. The US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and special operations chief Admiral Frank Bradley are both under pressure over a 2 September follow-up strike on survivors clinging to a burning boat.

We wrote about the dubious legalities of the US operation yesterday, you can catch up here. Despite the scandal, the US hit another boat in the Pacific Thursday, killing four people.

MoD tight-lipped

On 21 November, we asked the MoD for:

All information related to changes to UK military counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean region due to increased US military operations from 1 September 2025 to 21 November 2025, including information regarding internal discussions about said changes.

On 4 December, the Latin American and Caribbean team responded:

A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I can
confirm that no information in scope of your request is held.

The UK’s biggest ally has carried out a massive military build up in a region. It is in an area where the UK conducts year-round military operations, has military bases, and long historical links. The escalation has been accompanied by tens of deadly strikes on alleged ‘narco’ boats. It seems highly improbable that no internal discussions at all have taken place within the British military about how this affects UK operations.

The MOD has been approached for further comment.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

This post was originally published on Canary.