Colombian President Accuses US of 'Murdering' Fisherman In Boat Strike [View all]

Last edited Sun Oct 19, 2025, 09:02 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Newsweek

Published Oct 19, 2025 at 04:11 AM EDT updated Oct 19, 2025 at 06:55 AM EDT


Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, has accused Washington of "murder" after the U.S. military struck an alleged drug-trafficking vessel last month. Petro said the White House had violated the South American country's sovereignty and killed a Colombian fisherman, named by the president as Alejandro Carranza. Colombian media reported Carranza was onboard a boat targeted by U.S. forces on September 15. Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment via email.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has framed a run of U.S. strikes in the Caribbean since early September as a campaign against drug trafficking into the U.S., particularly from Venezuela, deepening fraught relations with Caracas and Bogotá. Petro said earlier this month: "A new war scenario has opened up: the Caribbean."

At least 27 people had been killed in the strikes, according to the administration's numbers, before the U.S. targeted another alleged drug vessel on Thursday.

Trump said on Saturday that U.S. forces had hit "a very large drug-carrying submarine" en route to the U.S. two days earlier, killing two people. One Colombian national and one Ecuadorian citizen survived the strike and were being returned to their home countries, the president said.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/colombian-president-accuses-us-of-murdering-fisherman-in-boat-strike-10901931