President Petro accuses US of killing Colombians in attacks on narco-boats'

"Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, has drawn Washington's ire after accusing the US of killing Colombian citizens during a recent boat strike in the Caribbean Sea. A new theatre of war has opened up: the Caribbean, Petro wrote on his official X account on Wednesday night. The US has launched at least four deadly aerial attacks on alleged drug trafficking boats crossing the waterway since early September, when 11 people were killed in the first strike."

"The White House pushed back against Petro's claims demanding he publicly retract his baseless and reprehensible statement about the boat attack. But two US officials, who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, told the New York Times that Colombians were on at least one of the boats recently destroyed by the US. Petro urged the White House to release the names of those killed by US strikes so I can see if my information is unfounded."

The US has launched at least four deadly aerial attacks on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean since early September, with the first strike killing 11 people. At least 21 people have reportedly died in the campaign. Colombia's president accused the US of killing Colombian citizens in a recent boat strike and urged families to come forward while asking Washington to release the names of those killed. The White House demanded a public retraction and denied the claim, while unnamed US officials told the New York Times that Colombians were on at least one destroyed boat. US officials say the strikes target Venezuelan narco groups and form part of a major military buildup in the Caribbean.

Read at www.theguardian.com