Summary
- Colombian
President Petro claims a US strike hit a Colombian vessel. - White
House calls the allegation “baseless and reprehensible.” - US
says strikes target narco-trafficking vessels in Caribbean.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the
South American leader made the claim.
“The United States 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 United States and Colombia,”
a White House official
said in a statement.
“Despite policy differences with
the current government, Colombia remains an essential strategic partner. We are
committed to close cooperation on a range of shared priorities, including
regional security and stability, and we remain engaged in efforts that improve
the lives of Americans and Colombians alike,”
the official added.
Petro told the White House on
Wednesday that the US ought to disclose information regarding the victims of
the most recent incident.
“Indications show that the last
boat bombed was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside it,”
Petro wrote
without providing details or evidence of his claim.
“The aggression is against
all of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
“The White House should give us
information on the people who have died from US missiles, to know if my
information is unfounded,”
Petro said
on X.
Last week, Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth announced that all four of the passengers were killed after the
United States hit what he called a “narco-trafficking vessel” in international
waters off the coast of Venezuela.
Since early September, there have
been at least four documented US military strikes in the area, all of which
have targeted vessels the administration says are “affiliated” with
drug cartels.
In late September, Petro raised
the possibility that Colombians might have also been killed in another of the
strikes.
Referring to a vessel that was
struck on September 19, the Colombian president said at the time: “If the boat
was sunk in the Dominican Republic, then it is possible that they were
Colombians. This means that officials from the US and the Dominican Republic
would be guilty of the murder of Colombian citizens.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on
Sunday said the US is confident all the people on board the four boats were
narco-traffickers.
“The Department of Defense doesn’t
take this lightly. There are many boats running through that region, some of
which you – we suspect may have drugs on them, and they don’t take shots at
them because they need to know with 100% certainty,”
he said.
The strikes came after US warships
were sent to the Caribbean Sea on what Caracas fears is a regime change
operation but Washington maintains is a fight against drug trafficking. The
United States has increased the reward for the arrest of Venezuelan leader
Nicolás Maduro to $50 million after accusing him of being involved in drug
trafficking, a charge he vehemently disputes.
What international law applies to
military strikes in international waters?
Acknowledges the right of
self-defense if a state is the subject of an armed attack, allowing use of
force, if the necessity and proportionality conditions are strictly met.
Contains elaborate rules on the
conduct of hostilities at sea, which stresses that force must also be necessary
and proportional, and that hostility must be grounded in the conditions of
armed conflict.
Clarifies jurisdictional limits
and rights in, and over, the high seas, and generally prohibits use of force
that infringes on the sovereignty of coastal states, except permitted by
self-defense or their consent.
