Excellent news: "Special relationship may be under serious strain"

Editor's note: Recent mainstream reporting confirms that the UK has "partially suspended intelligence-sharing with the U.S.," notably in relation to "information on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean." British officials reportedly grew concerned that intelligence provided by UK assets—especially those based in British-overseen Caribbean territories (offshore banking and money laundering)—could be used by the U.S. military in lethal strikes which they believe may violate international law or amount to extrajudicial killings. According to published accounts, the U.S. has conducted multiple maritime strike operations since September, killing around 70 – 80 people, allegedly on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, but the UK appears unwilling to be complicit in operations whose legality it questions. Analysts identify this move as "one of the sharpest ruptures" in decades in the long-standing UK-US intelligence and security alliance, signaling that the "special relationship" may be under serious strain. Is the US cutting into Dope Inc.'s monopoly?

This tension over ethics and sovereignty echoes Britain's past scandals—most notoriously the HSBC case, where the UK's largest bank was fined nearly $2 billion by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012 for laundering billions in Mexican and Colombian drug money. Together, these events expose a recurring pattern of British institutions enabling or excusing criminal or unlawful behavior under the guise of partnership, reinforcing calls for America to reevaluate and reduce British influence within its financial and intelligence systems.

That "special relationship" runs deep with the British company Serco Group plc, through its U.S. subsidiary Serco Inc., holds multiple significant contracts with the US Navy, demonstrating deep British involvement in critical American defense operations. Recent contracts include multi‑million‑dollar agreements to support submarine communication systems, guided missile frigates, and the Navy's Amphibious Warfare Program Office. These contracts, collectively worth over $300 million in 2025 alone, highlight how a foreign-owned corporation is embedded in sensitive U.S. military infrastructure, raising questions about national security, oversight, and the influence of British interests within American defense programs.

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Maybe the US should hit boats smuggling cocaine into Europe instead of Venezuela?

US should fight drugs in EU 'narco-state' instead of Venezuela – Lavrov