US Criticizes IACHR Hearing on Counternarcotics Operations

State Dept Press Releases

Published March 13th, 2026

Detected March 14th, 2026

Summary

The U.S. State Department issued a statement criticizing the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for holding a thematic hearing on U.S. counternarcotics operations. The U.S. argues the IACHR overstepped its mandate and interfered with ongoing domestic litigation.

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What changed

The U.S. State Department issued a press statement on March 13, 2026, criticizing the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for holding a thematic hearing concerning U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The U.S. asserts that the IACHR acted beyond its competence, strayed from its mandate by focusing on international humanitarian law rather than human rights law, and allowed the ACLU to use the hearing to interfere with two pending U.S. federal court cases.

This statement serves as a notice to government agencies and legal professionals involved in international law and human rights that the U.S. government views the IACHR's actions as inappropriate and potentially undermining the inter-American human rights system. The U.S. calls for the IACHR to adhere to its statute and focus on individual petitions rather than engaging in matters of active domestic litigation or issues outside its human rights purview. No specific compliance actions are required for regulated entities, but awareness of the U.S. government's stance on such international commission actions is noted.

Source document (simplified)

Home Office of the Spokesperson Press Releases … Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Thematic Hearing on U.S. Counternarcotics Operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific hide

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Thematic Hearing on U.S. Counternarcotics Operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific

Press Statement

Thomas "Tommy" Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson

March 13, 2026

Today the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strayed far outside its mandate and acted beyond its competence in holding a thematic hearing on U.S. counter-narcoterrorism operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

The IACHR allowed the ACLU to exploit the hearing to try to force the United States to prematurely disclose arguments and evidence in two cases pending before U.S. federal courts. The IACHR lacks the competence to review the matters at issue, which concern the interpretation and application of international humanitarian law, not human rights law, and should not be a pawn in a domestic litigation strategy of the ACLU or any other party.

The United States calls on the Commission to adhere to its Statute and Rules of Procedure in the future and avoid inserting itself into matters that are in active domestic litigation and fall outside the human rights sphere. Convening hearings under these circumstances risks undermining—not strengthening—the credibility of the inter-American human rights system.

The Commission needs to redirect its focus toward the individual petitions languishing on its docket, sometimes for decades. This Commission owes it to those petitioners to address their concerns in a timely manner.