President Gustavo Petro confirmed this Saturday, October 18, that one of the boats bombed by the United States in recent days was Colombian and, apparently, the attack had killed a fisherman who, contrary to what the North American authorities say, was not carrying drugs.
The head of state refers to an operation in the Caribbean Sea that the Donald Trump administration carried out on October 16, in the midst of its crackdown on drug trafficking.
Petro cited a report by RTVC Noticias, which identified the fisherman who died, spoke with the family, and provided new details about how it all happened. This was the image released by RTVC Noticias, which shows that the boat was stationary when the attack occurred. | Photo: RTVC Noticias
According to the media, the boat was a small-scale fishing vessel and was experiencing mechanical problems at the time of the bombing. A man identified as Alejandro Carranza, 40, a well-known local fisherman, was on board.
Audenis Manjarrés, a relative of the victim, explained that the suspect said goodbye to her around 5:00 a.m. and went fishing, as he did almost every day. Since then, she said, they haven't heard from him, so they presume he died in the attack.
"He was there checking the stranded engines and they bombed them like that. It's unfair," the woman said.
RTVC Noticias revealed some images in which it can be seen that one of the boat's engines was raised and the other submerged, which would show that the boat was adrift and could not move.
In addition, the media indicated that some sources confirmed that the vessel set sail from the coast of La Guajira, so it would not have left Colombian waters at the time of the bombing, which could show that the attack was carried out in national maritime territory.
The boat attacked on September 16 was Colombian, it had one engine up as a sign of damage and was turned off, presumably it was in Colombian waters, the one who was there was a lifelong fisherman: Alejandro Carranza, who has not returned home.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 18, 2025
Alert the prosecutor's office... https://t.co/3NXO8Zkigj
In response to this information that became known in the last few hours, President Petro spoke out through his X account.
“The boat attacked on September 16 was Colombian, it had one engine up as a sign of damage and was turned off, presumably it was in Colombian waters, the person there was a lifelong fisherman: Alejandro Carranza, who has not returned home,” he wrote.
The president called on the Attorney General's Office to "act immediately" and initiate the relevant investigations. He also sent a message to the relatives of the fisherman who reportedly died in the attack.
“Grant immediate protection to the victims' families and, if they wish, join the victims in Trinidad and Tobago to pursue legal action around the world and in the U.S. courts.,” he added.
In another message, Petro went further and maintained that officials of the United States Government “have committed a murder” and had “violated our sovereignty in territorial waters.”
US government officials have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in territorial waters
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 19, 2025
Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to drug trafficking and his daily activity was fishing.
The Colombian boat was drifting and showing signs of distress…
He also made it clear that Carranza “had no ties to drug trafficking and his daily activity was fishing.” “We await explanations from the U.S. government,” he concluded.
