Colombian man killed by US strikes in Caribbean was fishing for tuna, not trafficking drugs; human rights lawyer makes big claim

The family of a Colombian fisherman killed in a US strike in the Caribbean has filed a formal complaint against such attacks with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The petition was filed on Tuesday by US human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik. It alleges that Alejandro Carranza was killed when the United States struck his boat off the coast of Colombia on September 15. Kovalik told CNN that the family seeks compensation and an end to similar killings: “These killings are against international law. They are against US law. We want this to stop, and we think this is at least a first step to having that happen.”


The complaint names US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth as responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like Carranza’s and claimed that his conduct was ratified by US President Donald Trump.

Since early September, US has carried out at least 22 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 83 people. The US maintains the strikes comply with the Law of Armed Conflict and has said the boats were linked to armed drug cartels. Trump claimed that the September 15 strike killed three “narcoterrorists from Venezuela” transporting drugs to the United States.

However, Kovalik says Carranza was simply fishing for marlin and tuna when he was killed. “That is what he was doing. That was his profession and his vocation.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro has described Carranza as a lifelong fisherman with no ties to the drug trade. He added that Carranza may have occasionally carried prohibited goods due to financial pressures, but "his actions don't deserve the death penalty.”

Kovalik has also represented President Petro, who was sanctioned by the US on October 24 over alleged involvement in the global drug trade. Petro has denied the allegations.