Image source, BBC/Paulo Cuba
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- author, Ion Wells
- Author title, BBC News South America correspondent
The family of Alejandro Carranza, the Colombian who allegedly died during a US attack on a ship in the Caribbean Sea, has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington.
British newspaper Guardian Al-Hosary made the statement, which was confirmed by BBC Mundo through lawyer and activist Daniel Kovalik, the legal representative of the family and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is a strong critic of the policies of his American counterpart, Donald Trump.
The complaint states: “On September 15, 2025, the US military bombed the boat of Alejandro Carranza Medina (…) which was sailing in the Caribbean from the coast of Colombia. Carranza died during this bombing.”
At least 83 people have died since September in attacks ordered by the Trump administration against suspected drug ships as part of its war against drug trafficking in the Caribbean, South America and the Pacific.
The US government justifies this military campaign to save American lives by stopping the entry of drugs into its territory.
However, experts said the attacks could violate international law.
For weeks, the family of Petro and Carranza publicly condemned the disappearance of this alleged fisherman and attributed it to the actions of the United States, even though his body has not been found and the evidence is limited.
Carranza’s case, along with that of Colombian Jason Obando Pérez and Ecuadorian Andres Fernando Tuvino Chila, survivors of another attack on October 16, are the only cases in which the names of the alleged victims of the attacks have been released.
Kovalik hopes his petition will open the way for more families to speak out, and he hopes more evidence about Carranza’s disappearance will be published.
Weeks of complaining
Carranza, 42, said goodbye to his family on the morning of September 14 before setting off on his boat as usual, his cousin Udines Manjares told Colombian state media.
According to this testimony, Carranza left the Colombian province of La Guajira, which borders Venezuela in the Caribbean.
The next day, Trump announced an attack in international waters on a ship that had left Venezuela, and said the three crew members had died.
Since that day, Carranza’s niece, Lizbeth Perez, has not heard from her uncle.
Perez told the BBC that Carranza’s five children miss their father, and that the family is anxiously awaiting answers, not knowing if the Colombian was on the boat during the attack.
Image source, Marco Perdomo/AFP via Getty Images
“The truth is we don’t know if it’s him,” Perez says. “We don’t have any evidence that it is him, except for what we’ve seen on the news.”
In mid-September, Petro denounced that at least one of the multiple US attacks in the Caribbean had occurred against a Colombian ship with citizens of his country on board.
Petro initially relied on “indicators”, without giving further details, and so far the government has not provided evidence, despite a request sent by BBC Mundo.
On October 18, a report by state media RTVC said that Carranza, identified as a fisherman, was on one of the boats that was attacked.
Petro reinforced his complaints by publishing the report and accused Washington of violating Colombia’s sovereignty and committing murder.
Trump responded by announcing the suspension of payments and subsidies to Colombia and, days later, imposing sanctions on Petro over his alleged links to drug trafficking.
Perez told the BBC that Carranza “was a good man, a good person, a good friend, a good father, uncle and son.”
The alleged victim’s niece added: “He was a happy person. He loved his work and fishing.”
The Carranza family is extensive. About 20 members live in a small house in the fishing village of Gaira.
After initially identifying him as a fisherman, Pietro alleged in early November that Carranza wanted to help his daughter study at university and therefore accepted money from a drug dealer to transport drugs to an island.
That’s when his boat was hit, according to the president.
“We don’t know if he was carrying fish or cocaine, but (…) he was not on death row and they did not have to kill him,” Petro said.
The Colombian press has reported on Carranza’s alleged criminal past, which includes stealing weapons from police nine years ago.
The family denied these reports and said they felt pain because he was described as a drug smuggler.
Image source, Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images
According to Kovalik, the family’s lawyer, although the Trump administration maintains that the attacks were against drug traffickers, “that does not give you the right to participate in extrajudicial executions.”
“They are small boats… If you really think they are doing something wrong, these people should be arrested, prosecuted, convicted and punished,” the lawyer added.
Kovalik shared the complaint document with BBC Mundo.
This points to Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, as being responsible for ordering bombings like the one in which Carranza allegedly died.
When asked about evidence that Carranza’s death occurred under the circumstances mentioned, Kovalik referred us to the testimony of one of the witnesses named in the petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and whose identity he requested to be protected.
Kovalik responded: “When the witness saw the video of the bombing, he was sure it was the type of boat Alejandro was using and he was sure it was Alejandro. The times also coincided. Obviously this is not evidence, but it is good evidence.”
In the air
Kovalik is optimistic about the scope of his complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, believing it will encourage more families to come together and announce the disappearance of their loved ones.
On the other hand, American attacks frighten fishermen in South American waters, for fear that they will be mistaken for drug traffickers on the high seas.
The US government defends that the United States is “threatened” by “terrorist organizations” and that drugs are killing thousands of its citizens.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that seizures of cocaine, the most produced and trafficked drug in South America, increased by 18% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
However, fentanyl is the substance that causes the most deaths in the United States, and is produced and transported into the country from Mexico.
Many in South America do not believe that the goal of the US military deployment in the Caribbean is the alleged drug boats, but rather to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to force him to leave power.
The United States accuses Maduro of leading a criminal organization called the Sun Cartel, which the Venezuelan denies.
Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would begin carrying out “ground strikes” that could target Venezuela or any country believed to be producing or selling illegal drugs to his country.
The region remains in a state of suspense in the face of unexpected results.
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