Colombian president says US military struck Colombian boat, killed his citizens
The last boat struck by the U.S. military in the Caribbean Sea was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday.
A U.S. person familiar with the details confirmed to ABC News that at least one of the boats hit by the military in the Caribbean Sea was believed to be from Colombia.
In a statement, however, the White House pushed back, calling the assertion “baseless” and said Colombia remained an “essential strategic partner.”
The claim that the U.S. killed citizens of Colombia is likely to fan criticism that President Donald Trump is risking a wider regional war by launching a series of deadly strikes in the Caribbean Sea without saying who exactly is being targeted.
Trump has mostly blamed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for enabling the transit of illicit drugs into the U.S., insisting that Maduro step down from power and telling Congress that the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
President of Colombia Gustavo Petro arrives for Daniel Noboa’s presidential inauguration at National Assembly building on May 24, 2025 in Quito, Ecuador. Noboa inaugurates his first complete 4-year term after serving 17 months in office due to President Guillermo Lasso “cross death” call to dissolve parliament and early elections. (Photo by Franklin Jacome/Getty Images)
Franklin Jacome/Getty Images
In the latest incident, on Oct. 3, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he ordered the military to strike a boat carrying drugs in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people.
Hegseth and Trump both posted a video of the strike showing a boat engulfed in flames, but did not provide additional details about who was on the boat, what kinds of drugs they were carrying, where they were headed exactly, or their nationalities.
“Indications show that the last boat bombed was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside it. I hope their families come forward and report it,” Petro posted on X on Wednesday. “There is no war against smuggling; there is a war for oil and it must be stopped by the world.”
A White House official flatly denied the allegation.
“The United States looks forward to President Petro publicly retracting his baseless and reprehensible statement so that we can return to a productive dialogue on building a strong, prosperous future for the people of United States and Colombia. Despite policy differences with the current government, Colombia remains an essential strategic partner.”
Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia planned a vote on Wednesday on a resolution to prevent the U.S. military from conducting future strikes, calling them illegal.
“Congress has not authorized these strikes. They are illegal and risk dragging America into another war,” Schiff said in a statement.
The effort to advance this resolution in the Senate narrowly failed Wednesday night by a vote of 48-51.
It would’ve needed a simple majority of votes to move forward.
Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to cast a vote against the resolution. Sens. Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote for it.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended a private lunch with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon to convince Republicans not to join Democrats in trying to curb the president’s powers. Following the meeting, Rubio told reporters that the president has the authority to use military power against drug cartels without congressional approval.
“These drug trafficking organizations are a direct threat to the safety and security of the United States to unleash violence and criminality on our streets, fueled by the drugs and the drug profits that they make,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol. “And the president is the commander in chief, has an obligation to keep our country safe.”
ABC’s Luis Martinez, Mariam Khan and Aicha Elhammar contributed to this report.