Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused US President Donald Trump of violating Colombia’s sovereignty and committing murder in a series of strikes against “narcoterrorists.” Petro highlighted the death of fisherman Alejandro Carranza in a September Caribbean boat attack, sharing family video testimony on X: “US officials killed a fisherman with no drug ties.”
Petro demanded explanations and criticised the campaign, which has killed at least 27 people without evidence of drug involvement. Experts note such killings are illegal, even against confirmed traffickers.
'Oil GREED is behind strategy that is firing missiles at FISHERMEN'
Colombia’s Petro responds to Trump’s 'drug boat' strikes
He says it's NOTHING to do with fentanyl crisis
Which is 'internal policy of US that it must adopt to SAVE its society' https://t.co/VxW6wCfM2V pic.twitter.com/dqrgg6Cy0a
— RT (@RT_com) October 18, 2025Trump’s unprecedented military actions aim to curb drug flows from Latin America to the US. On October 18, he announced a strike on a “drug-smuggling submarine,” killing two and capturing two suspects from Ecuador and Colombia. “Two terrorists were killed; survivors returned for prosecution,” Trump posted on Truth Social, claiming the vessel carried fentanyl.
The 34-year-old Colombian survivor arrived in serious condition with brain trauma, sedated, and on a ventilator, per Interior Minister Armando Benedetti. Petro confirmed prosecution but reiterated sovereignty concerns.
#Trump confirms a #US strike on what he said was a drug submarine near #Venezuela, claiming that at least two people on board were killed. Meanwhile, #Colombia's Petro says the #US killed an innocent fisherman in an earlier September strike. https://t.co/RH6ANxgdA3
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 19, 2025Petro’s government has lambasted the strikes, with a UN speech last month calling for criminal proceedings against Trump. Since September, at least six Caribbean vessels, mostly speedboats, have been targeted, with Venezuela as a suspected origin for some. Semi-submersibles from Colombia have long aided Pacific cocaine trafficking to Central America.
Read: Trump Imposes Sanctions on Colombia Over Deportation Flight Dispute
Petro’s accusations heighten US-Latin America tensions amid Trump’s aggressive policy, testing sovereignty norms.
