Bogotá, Colombia – Colombian citizens were killed in a United States attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean last week, according to Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
In an X post Wednesday, the South American leader said: “Evidence suggests that the last boat bombed was Colombian with Colombian citizens on board.” The White House rebuked the claims, calling them “baseless” and “reprehensible” in a statement to CNN.
If true, the attack would mark an expansion of Washington’s military campaign against alleged Venezuelan drug boats which has destroyed at least four vessels and killed 21 people since September.
Last Friday, October 3, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the U.S. military had carried out a “lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel” in international waters off Venezuela’s coast, killing four people.
According to Petro, the boat was not Venezuelan but rather a Colombian vessel carrying Colombian citizens. The president did not provide evidence to substantiate the claim and the White House demanded Petro walk back the allegations.
“The United States looks forward to President Petro publicly retracting his baseless and reprehensible statement,” a White House official told CNN.
Petro’s comments on Wednesday were not the first time the leader has suggested that Colombians may have lost their lives in the White House’s campaign against boats in the Southern Caribbean. In a September 22 tweet, Petro suggested that the third boat destroyed in Washington’s campaign may have been carrying Colombian citizens.
Petro also mentioned the possibility of Colombians being killed in U.S. strikes during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month.
Last week’s strike was at least the fourth of its kind since September 2, though the total number of attacks is unclear due to conflicting reports from officials in Washington.
The strikes have been criticized in the U.S. and abroad for violating international maritime law, which restricts the use of lethal force to vessels under direct threat.
Petro made his claims in response to a tweet by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff in which he announced plans to force a vote blocking the White House from continuing its campaign in the Caribbean.
“Congress has not authorized these strikes. They are illegal and risk dragging America into another war,” wrote the Senator.
Petro backed Schiff, saying he is “in the right” before suggesting Colombians were killed in last week’s strike.
