<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/02/trump-caribbean-drug-boat-attack-complaint>
"A family in Colombia filed a petition on Tuesday with the Washington DC-based
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that the Colombian citizen
Alejandro Carranza Medina was illegally killed in a US airstrike on 15
September.
The petition marks the first formal complaint over the airstrikes by the Trump
administration against suspected drug boats, attacks that the White House says
are justified under a novel interpretation of law.
The IACHR, part of the Organization of American States, is designed to “promote
and protect human rights in the Western Hemisphere”. The US is a member, and in
March the Trump administration’s state department wrote: “The United States is
pleased to be a strong supporter of the IACHR and is committed to continuing
support for the Commission’s work and its independence. Preserving the IACHR’s
autonomy is a pillar of our human rights policy in the region.”
The complaint was filed by Pittsburgh-based human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik.
“On September 15, 2025, the United States military bombed the boat of Alejandro
Andres Carranza Medina,” the filing says, “which Mr Carranza was sailing in the
Caribbean off the coast of Colombia. Mr Carranza was killed in the process of
this bombing.”
Kovalik identified Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, as the perpetrator,
based on Hegseth’s own statements. “From numerous news reports, we know that
Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, was responsible for ordering the bombing
of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Medina and the murder of all those on
such boats. Secretary Hegseth has admitted that he gave such orders despite the
fact that he did not know the identity of those being targeted for these
bombings and extra-judicial killings,” the filing goes on.
The complaint adds: “US President Donald Trump has ratified the conduct of
Secretary Hegseth described herein.”
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, did not respond directly to questions
about the complaint or about Carranza Medina’s death, but wrote in an email
that the media were “now running cover for foreign terrorists smuggling deadly
narcotics intended to murder Americans”.
Carranza, 42, appears to have been killed in the second strike of the Trump
administration’s bombing campaign, on 15 September. The administration has
publicly disclosed 21 strikes on alleged drug boats. Carranza’s family says he
was a fisher who would often set out in search of marlin and tuna."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
