US STRIKES KILL COLOMBIAN FISHERMAN, SPARK DIPLOMATIC ROW WITH BOGOTÁ
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Agency Report
The family of Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman from Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is demanding justice after he was killed in a U.S. military strike that Washington claims targeted drug traffickers.
Carranza was among 32 people reportedly killed in U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean last month. However, his relatives insist he was an innocent fisherman caught in the crossfire of America’s renewed anti-narcotics campaign.
From his hometown of Santa Marta, Carranza’s wife, Katerine Hernandez, told AFP that her husband had gone fishing in open waters before his death.
“Why did they just take his life like that?” she asked tearfully. “The fishermen have the right to live. Why didn’t they just detain them?”
The U.S. government claims the vessels struck were carrying narcotics, but has offered little public evidence to support its assertions. Critics, including human rights advocates, have accused Washington of carrying out extrajudicial killings under the guise of counter-narcotics operations.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a vocal critic of U.S. military activity in the Caribbean, condemned the bombing, calling it a “violation of Colombia’s sovereignty” and an “assassination.” Petro said Carranza’s boat had suffered mechanical failure and was drifting with a distress signal when it was struck.
“The Colombian boat was adrift with a distress signal, its engine raised,” Petro wrote on X. “He had no ties to drug trafficking. His daily activity was fishing.”
The U.S. operation has since triggered a diplomatic standoff between the two countries, with former U.S. President Donald Trump defending the strikes and branding Petro an “illegal drug dealer.” Trump also vowed to suspend all economic aid to Colombia.
Local media in Colombia reported that Carranza once had a criminal record related to arms theft, though prosecutors have refused to confirm or deny the reports.
Friends and neighbors in Santa Marta maintain that Carranza lived a simple life as a fisherman, often venturing offshore to catch sierra, tuna, and snapper.
“He always came back to Santa Marta, secured his boat, and went home,” said longtime friend Cesar Henriquez. “I never knew him to do anything bad.”
AFP reports that only two people a Colombian and an Ecuadoran survived the U.S. attacks. The Colombian survivor, now hospitalized, faces trial on drug trafficking charges, while the Ecuadoran was released after being cleared of wrongdoing.
The deaths have reignited debate over U.S. military actions in the Caribbean and their implications for sovereignty, due process, and civilian protection in counter-narcotics operations.
AFP
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