CNN: UK suspends intelligence exchange with US due to US strikes on ships in Caribbean Sea

The UK has not shared intelligence information with the US about ships suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean for more than a month, because it does not want to be involved in American strikes, CNN reports, citing sources.

Great Britain, the TV channel explains, controls part of the territories in the Caribbean Sea, where the country’s intelligence units are located. London has been helping Washington track down suspected drug-smuggling vessels for years.

Thanks to information from an ally, the US Coast Guard stopped and inspected suspicious vessels. In case of violations, the crew was detained, and the drugs found were confiscated.

Soon after the US began carrying out strikes on the boats in September, Britain became concerned that the US military might be using London's data to select targets.

In October, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the strikes, which killed 76 people, violated international law and amounted to an “extrajudicial killing.” The UK agrees with this assessment, CNN sources said.

Another key Washington ally, Canada, which has supported the US Coast Guard for 20 years, has also distanced itself from US military strikes, the article said.

According to CNN's interlocutors, the country's authorities intend to continue cooperation, but made it clear to the United States that they do not want their intelligence to be used to determine targets and attacks on ships in the Caribbean.

• The administration of US President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of insufficiently combating drug trafficking and considers attacks on Venezuelan vessels legal.
• American media reported that the United States was preparing to strike Venezuela and was modernizing military infrastructure in the Caribbean.
• In October, amid the escalation, Maduro, according to The Washington Post, sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In it, he allegedly asked for strengthening Venezuela's air defenses, including the restoration of several Russian Su-30 fighter jets.