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The family of a Colombian man believed to have been killed in a US strike in the Caribbean has filed what’s believed to be the first complaint against such attacks with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), CNN reported citing the petition.
The petition, filed Tuesday by US human rights attorney Dan Kovalik, alleges that Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza was killed when the US struck his boat off the coast of Colombia on September 15.
It claims that the United States carried out an extra-judicial killing in violation of Carranza’s human rights.
Kovalik told CNN they are seeking compensation for his family and an end to such killings, but did not elaborate on how those demands would be met.
The complaint names Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as the perpetrator, saying he “was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Medina and the murder of all those on such boats.” It also claims that Hegseth’s conduct was “ratified” by US President Donald Trump.
Since early September, the US has carried out at least 22 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing at least 83 people, according to CNN.
Hegseth earlier said that the strikes targeting alleged drug trafficking boats are lawful but are intended to be "lethal."