By: Staff Writer
October 14, 2025
Colmbia’s President Gustavo Petro has called out US President Donald Trump for bombing and killing Colombian citizens on board a recently targeted Venezuelan ship last week.
The US has struck at least four vessels in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 21 people. The US government has said the strikes in international waters were targeting “narco-traffickers”.
But it has not provided evidence or details about who or what is aboard, and the strikes have attracted condemnation in countries in the region amid concerns they breach international law.
In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that indications showed that Colombians were on board at least one of the four ships that have been destroyed by the United States Military since September.
Petro said: “Indications show that the last boat bombed was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside it. I hope their families come forward and report it. There is no war against smuggling, there is a war for oil and it must be stopped by the world. The aggression is against all of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The New York Times reported that two anonymous US officials confirmed that Colombians were aboard a boat that was recently destroyed.
Petro did not specify the source of his information or why he believes the people on the boat were Colombian citizens, though he said he hopes their families come forward. The U.S. military has not publicly identified the boat’s passengers.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been consistent in their attempts to break the backs and will of drug trafficking cartels in the Caribbean sea.
Earlier this month, Trump sent a notice to Congress a legal rationale for why three U.S. military strikes were necessary to combat narco-terrorism.
Geoffrey S. Corn, a retired judge advocate general lawyer who was formerly the Army’s senior adviser for law-of-war issues, said drug cartels were not engaged in “hostilities” — the standard for when there is an armed conflict for legal purposes — against the United States because selling a dangerous product is different from an armed attack.
The US Senate rejected a measure last week Wednesday that would have barred President Donald Trump from using military force against the boats.
The White House quickly denounced Petro’s statements of Colombian deaths. A White House official told the media that the U.S. “looks forward to President Petro publicly retracting his baseless and reprehensible statement so that we can return to a productive dialogue on building a strong, prosperous future for the people of the United States and Colombia.”
The White House official also described Colombia as an important U.S. partner despite “policy differences with the current government.