The UK has suspended some intelligence sharing with the US as the British government raises concerns over the legality of US strikes in the Caribbean, according to CNN.
The move comes as America’s biggest warship arrives in the Caribbean Sea.
Venezuela has announced it is shifting to full guerrilla insurgency mode, shoring up defences in the event of any future US ground invasion. Venezuelan defence minister Vladimir Padrino López explained that his country:
will continue in our determination to prepare ourselves to defend our homeland in all areas, whatever the threat, its intensity, its proportion.
The intelligence suspension is limited to suspected drug trafficking vessels operating in the Caribbean. Anonymous sources cited by CNN note the UK is keen to distance itself from US strikes ordered by the Trump administration which they deem illegal as involvement could risk complicity. Neither the US nor UK have commented on the issue. CNN called the move:
a significant break from its closest ally and intelligence sharing partner.
The UK has carried out drug interdiction in the Caribbean for decades. It currently has two Royal Navy patrol vessels deployed in the region. The HMS Medway replaced HMS Trent in early October. Medway is in Miami. HMS Trent was visible until recently off Puerto Rico, through it’s AIS satellite tracker now appears to be turned off now.
One open-source X account reported that the Trent’s crew in Jamaica on 10 November, dealing with the fallout of Hurricane Melissa:
HMS Trent and Jamaican partners now working to repair Falmouth All Ages School, after it was damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
Work paused for a Remembrance service yesterday, both for Remembrance Sunday and for the victims of the Hurricane.
(Src: @HMSTrent) pic.twitter.com/983uld2wcZ
— UK Forces Tracker (@UKForcesTracker) November 10, 2025
The UK also has a permanent presence in Belize, used for jungle training and engagement with regional partners, as well as local forces, to advance develop peace and security.
Cracks in the alliance
The UK is not alone in its reluctance to share intelligence with its American counterparts. As noted by CNN:
Colombia has also suspended intelligence sharing with the US. President Gustavo Petro said:
The fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.
Canada, whose coast guard also supports Caribbean counter-drug operations, has insisted its own intelligence should not be used for strikes.
The intelligence was typically sent to Joint Interagency Task Force South, a task force stationed in Florida that includes representatives from a number of partner nations and works to reduce the illicit drug trade.
Closer to home, the Conservative Party wheeled out their tired ‘lefty lawyers’ schtick:
The US is our closest ally & our key military, intelligence & security services partner.
It’s outrageous that Labour lefty lawyers are undermining our partnership & compromising our ability to tackle drug trafficking. Labour are a threat to our security https://t.co/d99MxSa4Wi
— Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) November 11, 2025
This is a trope the party has used to rail against everything from accountability for war crimes to migration.
And US far-right commentator Laura Loomer said something bizarre about Shabana Mahmood being an Islamist:
NEW:
The UK has made the decision to halt sharing intelligence with the US.
In September I called for the US to stop sharing intelligence with the UK after the Islamic terrorist supporter Shabana Mahmood @ShabanaMahmood became the UK Home Secretary.
She now controls MI5, the… https://t.co/CPmKIFjBlT
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 11, 2025
Moving on…
Gunship diplomacy
Since September, the US has killed 75 people in 19 airstrikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. The Trump administration insists that is is fighting a legitimate war on drug and asserts that its airstrikes are lawful. An increasingly vast array of opponents, including legal experts, say they are extrajudicial killings.
The US narrative centres on fighting the ‘narco-terrorism’ of Latin American cartels. Both local and international critics say this is a return to bullying Latin America and gunboat diplomacy — with regime change in oil-rich Venezuela being the real American aim.
The US build-up is already substantial and highly aggressive. Everything from submarines to special forces motherships, shadowy spy planes to flying artillery platforms have been deployed into the region. Killer drones are also present. And long disused military bases are being rebuilt. El Salvador, whose authoritarian president Nayib Bukele is a close Trump ally, is also hosting shadowy military aircraft.
The US flagship Gerald R. Ford has also arrived, according to reports. The giant aircraft carrier and her support ships were re-assigned from the Mediterranean to add even more weight to Trump’s Caribbean task force.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies has a breakdown of US forces here. And here’s their donor list for transparency.
It’s reported that at least two senior special forces officers told a closed-door session in Washington they were at a loss to explain why the build-up was so vast:
In a Capitol Hill briefing last month, two senior U.S. Special Operations officers reportedly couldn’t explain why the administration deployed so many powerful military assets in the Caribbean to destroy small boats , source familiar with the closed-door session told CNN.
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) November 11, 2025
Good enough for Gaza?
Precise details of the UK’s withdrawal of intelligence are unclear. As so often with intelligence and special operations matters, the government refuses to confirm or deny anything to the press or parliament.
Yet, as intelligence scholar Dan Lomas pointed out, the UK is bound by various laws and treaties on intelligence liaison:
Worth adding that the best overview of the importance of law in intelligence liaison can be found in the ISC’s report on International Partnerships from 2023 that shows the UK’s legal obligations vs. liaison: https://t.co/Rclr3xUQ5P https://t.co/G6NRMmKNWu pic.twitter.com/rg7JvAMNDg
— Dr. Dan Lomas (@Sandbagger_01) November 11, 2025
The main contention for the British government seems to be complicity in strikes that flout International laws. If that is the case, surely it has wider implications for foreign policy and intelligence partnerships with allies.
MI6 and GCHQ are overseen by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) scrutinises the “policies, expenditure, administration and operations” of all UK intelligence agencies.
Given the above, there are some serious questions to ask of Starmer’s government. The UK not only shares intelligence with Israel, but gathers intelligence on Israel’s behalf. If it is the case that concerns over legality can change alter or limit that relationship — as they should — why hasn’t intelligence sharing been radically adjusted or been suspended with an ally currently on trial for genocide and war crimes?
Neither MI5 nor GCHQ had responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
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