Family of Colombian fisherman killed in US military action against alleged “narco-terrorists” accuses the Trump administration of extrajudicial execution in a formal complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The family of a Colombian fisherman killed in one of the recent attacks by the United States on vessels in the Caribbean Sea reported the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) as an extrajudicial execution.
It is the first formal complaint against Donald Trump’s government since American forces began attacking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific under the justification of fighting “narco-terrorists”.
Since September, there have been 21 such attacks, which left more than 80 people dead.
So far, the White House has not presented evidence that the targets attacked were in fact trafficking drugs into the United States or posed any threat to national security.
The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) and is made up of seven jurists, who receive individual complaints and petitions, which can in some cases be forwarded to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDH Court), a judicial body.
What is the US accused of?
The family of Alejandro Carranza Medina – killed in an American attack off the coast of Colombia on September 15 – says he was denied his right to due process and a fair trial, contrary to international law.
This is the same assessment made by experts who criticize the American bombings of boats in the region. The United Nations itself also questioned the legality of the attacks.
“We know, from various reports in the press, that Pete Hegseth, American Secretary of Defense, was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Mediana and the murder of everyone who was on such boats”, says the family of the Colombian fisherman.
“Secretary Hegseth admitted that he gave these orders despite the fact that he did not know the identities of those who were being targeted in these bombings and extrajudicial killings.”
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Carranza’s family also highlights that Hegseth’s conduct was “ratified” by Trump.
The fisherman left four children and, according to the complaint, the family was now being threatened by paramilitaries.
In October, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that Carranza may have had some contact with drug trafficking. The politician, however, has criticized American actions in the region and refers to the attacks as “extrajudicial executions”.
To the IACHR, the victim’s family said that he also sometimes piloted boats for others, but denied that he was transporting drugs when he was shot.
USA killed shipwrecks
Although the IACHR’s decisions are not binding on the American government, a negative report could embarrass the White House.
The complaint comes at a time when the Trump administration is under pressure from both its Republican allies and the Democratic opposition over the deaths of two shipwrecked men on September 2. They had survived a first attack by American forces in the Caribbean Sea, only to be murdered moments later in a subsequent bombing raid.
The White House claimed it was not consulted about the second attack and attributed the decision to a military commander.
Originally published by DW on 12/03/2025
By Timothy Jones
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/12/04/eua-sao-denunciados-a-comissao-da-oea-por-ataque-no-caribe/
