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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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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.
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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.
"We received the Colombian detained in the narco submarine," Petro said on Saturday. "We are glad that he is alive and he will be processed in accordance with the laws."
International observers and some lawmakers have expressed concern the American attacks may violate international law.
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What To Know
The September 15 strike was the second attack acknowledged by the White House. Petro said Carranza had "no ties to the drug trade."
The Trump administration has not named those killed in the strikes, nor published proof that those on board the alleged drug boats were involved in narcotics trafficking.
"The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure," Petro said. "We await explanations from the U.S. government."
Local outlet RTVC Noticias reported the boat had left La Guajira in northeastern Colombia early on September 15 and was likely still in Colombian waters when it was attacked. Petro said the U.S. had "violated our sovereignty in territorial waters."
Trump said at the time that the U.S. had targeted "confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela" in international waters, killing three people.
The Republican earlier this week confirmed he had authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations to stymie drug trafficking from Venezuela, which was denounced by Caracas as an attempt to remove the South American country's authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Trump is a longtime critic of Maduro and the U.S. has offered a $50-million reward for information leading to his arrest. The U.S., along with many European and Latin American countries, does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of the country's July 2024 election.
The president has moved significant U.S. military assets into the southern Caribbean, including stealth fighter jets and a submarine.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said on Saturday: "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route."
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in a post on X: "Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to the drug trade and his daily activity was fishing."
Update 10/19/2025 at 6:15 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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