Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has demanded a formal explanation from the United States a fisherman was allegedly killed in a U.S. airstrike carried out in Colombian territorial waters on September 16.

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Petro called on the Attorney General’s Office to immediately open an investigation. “I am requesting urgent action to protect the victim’s relatives and, if they wish, to join them with the victims from Trinidad and Tobago to begin legal proceedings internationally and in U.S. courts,” Petro said.

The Colombian president directly blamed U.S. personnel for the incident. “Officials from the U.S. government committed murder and violated our sovereignty,” he declared, stressing that the victim had no criminal ties. “Alejandro Carranza had no links to drug trafficking—he was simply a fisherman.”

Washington first framed the strike as part of its counter-narcotics mission in the Caribbean, but Colombian authorities maintain it took place within their maritime jurisdiction. Carranza’s family told public broadcaster RTVC that he left home to fish that day and never returned.

Bogotá considers the case a potential breach of international law and warned it could take the issue to global legal bodies if Washington fails to provide a satisfactory response. “We are awaiting an explanation from the U.S. government,” Petro insisted.

He also criticized U.S. military actions in the region, accusing the Trump administration of using the fight against smuggling as a pretext. “There is no war against contraband—this is a war over oil, and it must be stopped. This aggression targets all of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Petro further dismissed claims about the existence of the so-called “Los Soles Cartel,” calling it a fabricated excuse for foreign intervention and government change in Venezuela. He has also condemned the possibility of a U.S. Marine invasion of Venezuelan territory, labeling it a violation of a UN Human Rights Commission resolution.

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