New reporting has revealed allegations of a potential war crime committed during the Trump administration’s recent Caribbean strikes against small boats, which the administration has claimed were carrying drugs.
The September 2025 strike on an alleged drug vessel that killed 11 people featured the use of a military plane disguised as a civilian plane, the New York Times has reported. The report has raised concerns of perfidy, an act of deception by military forces.
Concealing the aircraft’s identity for purposes of an attack could constitute a war crime under international law, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Here’s what to know about perfidy.
What is perfidy?
In warfare, perfidy is a deceptive tactic in which one side takes advantage of good faith of the other side to launch an attack, according to Oxford Public International Law.
The OPIL adds, “Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence.”
Did the Trump administration commit perfidy?
In a September 2025 fatal strike on an alleged drug vessel, U.S. forces used a military aircraft disguised as a civilian plane, the New York Times reported. The plane, the Times reported, was painted to look civilian and had its munitions hidden in the fuselage instead of visibly under the wings.
What do laws of war say about perfidy?
Under international law, killing, injuring or capturing an adversary through perfidy is banned, according to the ICRC.
Why is it prohibited to disguise yourself during wartime?
The prohibition, according to Oxford Public International Law, falls under the implication that the right of the parties to the conflict to choose methods or means of warfare is not unlimited. For instance, “a soldier who kills an adversary in combat does not commit an unlawful act, but a soldier who pretends to be wounded in order to kill his adversary acts perfidiously and should bear responsibility for the murder.”
However, not all deceptive acts are prohibited; for instance, ruses of war are recognized to be a lawful method of warfare.
According to Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, from 1863, one of the earliest efforts to codify military rules, “The use of the enemy’s national standard, flag, or other emblem of nationality, for the purpose of deceiving the enemy in battle, is an act of perfidy by which they lose all claim to the protection of the laws of war.”
The 1863 instructions also note the military “… disclaims acts of perfidy; and, in general, military necessity does not include any act of hostility which makes the return to peace unnecessarily difficult.”
According to the Lieber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, “Combatants who discard their uniforms and fight in civilian clothing lose their entitlement to prisoner of war status, combatant immunity, and other privileges of lawful combatant status.”
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Did US military commit perfidy in boat strike? What law says
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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