The family of a Colombian fisherman, Alejandro Carranza, has filed what is believed to be the first formal complaint against US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), according to CNN. This isn’t just a quiet protest, either; the petition names US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as the perpetrator of the alleged killing.
The petition, filed by US human rights attorney Dan Kovalik, alleges that Carranza was killed when the US struck his boat off the coast of Colombia on September 15. The core of the complaint is that the United States carried out an extrajudicial killing that fundamentally violated Carranza’s human rights. The complaint states that Hegseth “was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Medina and the murder of all those on such boats.” It also claims that President Donald Trump ratified Hegseth’s conduct.
The US has a very different story about what happened on September 15. President Trump claimed the strike had successfully killed three “narcoterrorists from Venezuela” who were transporting drugs to the United States. However, attorney Kovalik and Colombian President Gustavo Petro push back hard on that narrative. Kovalik says Carranza was a Colombian citizen who was simply out fishing for marlin and tuna, emphasizing that fishing was his “profession and his vocation.”
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President Petro previously insisted Carranza was a lifelong fisherman with zero ties to the drug trade. Petro even noted that Carranza’s boat was displaying a distress signal because of engine damage. However, the Colombian president later made a critical concession, suggesting Carranza might have accepted money to carry prohibited goods due to his difficult financial situation. Even so, Petro was clear that even if that were true, “never did his actions deserve the death penalty.”
President Petro announced Monday that Kovalik had launched a “judicial defense” for the family. Petro also said his country must convene a commission of Colombian lawyers to investigate what he considered “crimes” happening in the Caribbean. Kovalik told CNN they are seeking compensation for Carranza’s wife and kids, but more importantly, they want these types of killings to stop. Kovalik is arguing that these strikes violate both international law and US law.
This action comes after the US has seriously ramped up its efforts in the region. Since early September, the US has executed at least 22 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats across the Caribbean and the Pacific, resulting in the deaths of at least 83 people. The White House has repeatedly tried to justify these actions by claiming the boats were carrying individuals linked to cartels that are engaged in an armed conflict with the US.
While Pete Hegseth has doubled down on his support for the Navy, that narrative is facing a lot of scrutiny even inside the US.
Published: Dec 3, 2025 05:30 pm