US federal prosecutors on May 20 unsealed a superseding indictment charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five former Cuban military pilots in the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian planes flown by the Miami exile group Brothers to the Rescue, an attack that killed four people over international waters.

Nearly 200 people have been killed since the US started bombing boats supposedly believed to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific last September—and the figure keeps rising. The strikes have caused an international outcry over the violation of international human rights law, but there has been little information about the victims themselves. A months-long cross-border investigation coordinated by the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) has now managed to piece together the details of over 20 of the young men believed to have been killed, plus three survivors. They were overwhelmingly poor fishermen and small boat transporters without criminal records. They came from economically vulnerable coastal communities, including in Colombia, Venezuela, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Ecuador. The investigation identified each of the boats targeted and noted that their home governments have failed so far to investigate the attacks.

The International Court of Justice opened oral hearings May 4 on the merits of a territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, with Guyana asking the court to declare that Venezuela has no legitimate claim to the oil-rich territory that constitutes some two-thirds of Guyana's landmass.

The United Nations called upon the international community April 6 to provide immediate support for Cuba amid a worsening humanitarian crisis caused by a US-imposed oil blockade and compounded by the effects of Hurricane Melissa, which struck the country in October 2025.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement March 31 condemning the "unlawful use of lethal force outside any context of armed conflict" by the US military over the past recent months. The statement said that the deadly US strikes on vessels thought to be carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific amount to "extrajudicial executions."

The Hague District Court ruled on Jan. 28 that the Netherlands has failed to meet its international obligations on climate change. The court ordered the government to adopt adequate measures to better protect Bonaire, a Dutch Caribbean island, within 18 months.

President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 3 that the US would "run" Venezuela, following a strike on the country that led to the capture and transfer to the US of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores.

Chinese officials on Dec. 22 condemned the US seizure of oil tankers headed from Venezuelan ports, calling the acts a "serious violation of international law."

"Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference. Jian stated that China opposes unilateral enforcement of sanctions that lack "basis in international law" and infringe on the sovereignty of other nations.