Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused the US of committing “murder” following a strike carried out on a boat in Colombian territorial waters in September.
Posting on X, he said: “The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure,” when it was struck.
It comes after President Donald Trump said the US had struck a “drug-carrying submarine” on Thursday, killing two people.
The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure.”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Trump of trying to make the South American nation “an American colony”.
The US has been charged with “murder” by Colombian President Gustavo Petro in response to a September strike on a boat in Colombian territorial waters.
Petro claimed on social media that the US had killed a Colombian fisherman and violated his nation’s sovereignty.
“The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure,” he wrote at the time of the collision in a post on X. He went on: “We’re waiting on the US government to provide an explanation. “.
It comes after President Donald Trump claimed that two people were killed when the US hit a “drug-carrying submarine” on Thursday.
US intelligence verified that the ship was “loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics,” Trump wrote on social media.
At least six US attacks on ships in the Caribbean Sea have occurred in recent weeks, including this one. This is the first report of survivors.
On Saturday, Pedro posted on X about a previous September attack, saying: “U.S. government officials have violated our sovereignty in territorial waters and committed a murder.
“Fisherman Alejandro Carranza fished every day and had no connection to the drug trade. An engine failure caused the Colombian boat to become adrift and activate its distress signal. “.”.
While Alejandro Carranza was fishing in the Caribbean on September 15, US forces are said to have fired on his boat, killing him.
Although his administration has not offered proof or information regarding the identities of the boats or the people on board, Trump has defended the ongoing boat attacks, claiming they are intended to stop the flow of drugs from Latin America into the US.
“Extrajudicial executions” is how UN-appointed human rights experts have characterized the US strikes.
The U.S. administration released figures showing that the previous five boat strikes in the waters off Venezuela killed at least 27 people.
The submarine targeted in the most recent attack was “built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” according to a post made by Trump on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“This was no harmless bunch of people. He added that no US military personnel had been hurt, saying, “That was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded submarine, and I don’t know too many people who have submarines.”.
Two survivors will be sent back to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, the US president added.
A source with knowledge of the situation told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that they were moved to a US Navy ship.
What is the reason behind Trump’s approval of CIA action in Venezuela?
Trump has intensified his threats against Venezuela’s leadership in recent weeks due to allegations that the nation is supplying the US with drugs. Trump has been charged by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with attempting to turn the South American country into “an American colony”.
Trump had previously told reporters that he was thinking of attacking Venezuelan territory and that he had given the CIA permission to carry out clandestine operations there.
Narco-subs are a common means of drug transportation because they can be sunk after delivery and go mostly unnoticed. Fiberglass and plywood are frequently used in their homemade construction.
Some of these submarines have been intercepted by the US and other coastal countries in the past.
