The Catholic Archbishop for the US Military Services has spoken out against the US bombing campaign against alleged drug boats in Latin America and said it would be “illegal and immoral” to order the bombing of survivors on a boat that poses no threat.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio made clear in his statement that he was questioning the entire premise of the bombing campaign, not just the September 2 attack that involved multiple strikes to kill survivors.
“In the fight against drugs, the end never justifies the means, which must be moral, in accord with the principles of the just war theory, and always respectful of the dignity of each human person,” Broglio said in a statement released on December 3.
“No one can ever be ordered to commit an immoral act, and even those suspected of committing a crime are entitled to due process under the law. As the moral principle forbidding the intentional killing of noncombatants is inviolable, 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,” he added.
Broglio said due process must apply to everyone and called for the use of traditional law-enforcement tactics against drug shipments, such as Coast Guard intercepts. “Due process must apply to everyone, regardless of his or her role in illegal activity. The rule of law must guide all actions; abandoning due process undermines human rights, erodes public trust, and risks harming innocent people. True justice is achieved through transparent legal procedures, accountability, and respect for life—not through violence outside the law,” he said.
The archbishop, who also served as the head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops from November 2022 to November 2025, called on US leaders to “respect the consciences of those who raise their right hands to defend and protect the Constitution by not asking them to engage in immoral actions.”
Catholic bishops in the Caribbean have also criticized the US bombing campaign, saying in a statement last month that it “violates the sacredness of human life.” Pope Leo XIV has said the US military buildup in the region is raising tension and has warned the US against the idea of launching a regime change war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
According to numbers released by the Trump administration, since early September, the US military has blown up 23 boats and killed 87 people, whom it claimed were “narco-terrorists,” a term it uses to justify the extrajudicial executions at sea.
