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.