The family of a Colombian man killed in a U.S. strike on a boat in the Caribbean filed a complaint Tuesday with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), alleging the United States committed human rights violations in an “extra-judicial killing.”
Alejandro Andres Carranza Medina, a 42-year-old fisherman, was killed in a Sept. 15 U.S. military strike off the Colombian coast, according to the filing.
The complaint was filed by Carranza’s wife and four children. Their lawyer, Daniel Kovalik, said in a phone interview that the grieving family had been left without their chief breadwinner and were also facing threats after speaking publicly about the case.
“Their world has been turned upside down,” Kovalik said.
Since September, the Trump administration has confirmed 21 strikes on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing more than 80 people in a campaign that has raised bipartisan concerns over its legality.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing scrutiny over the extent of his involvement in a Sept. 2 strike that required an additional attack to kill two survivors, as reported by The Washington Post. The complaint filed to the IACHR on Tuesday cited The Post’s reporting as evidence.
Carranza’s family is seeking compensation, though Kovalik acknowledged the IACHR does not have the power to enforce any recommendations it makes. The commission is headquartered in Washington and was set up in the 1950s by the Organization of American States to monitor and report on human rights in the Americas.
The U.S. is a member of the OAS. In March, the State Department wrote: “The United States is pleased to be a strong supporter of the IACHR and is committed to continuing support for the Commission’s work and its independence. Preserving the IACHR’s autonomy is a pillar of our human rights policy in the region.”
“They [the family] also want the killings to stop,” he said. “We hope that this can be at least part of the process of getting that to happen.”
The complaint names Hegseth as responsible for the killing. “Secretary Hegseth has admitted that he gave such orders despite the fact that he did not know the identity of those being targeted for these bombings and extra-judicial killings,” it reads, adding that Hegseth’s conduct was ratified by President Donald Trump.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint. The Defense Department directed inquiries to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond.
The Trump administration has insisted its actions against alleged drug traffickers in the region are “fully consistent with the law of armed conflict” and has repeatedly said that the president “is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding in to our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”
“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth wrote on social media last week.
In a Tuesday statement, the IACHR said it had “deep concern” over the U.S. strikes. It said “the use of military force for public security purposes should be exceptional, strictly regulated, and limited to circumstances where civilian authorities are unable to respond effectively.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro commented on Carranza’s killing last month in a social media post that said while it was possible Carranza had been involved in transporting illicit goods due to poverty, his alleged actions “did not deserve the death penalty” and that the boat would never have reached the U.S. Petro called the strikes “murder” in a September interview with The Post.
Samantha Schmidt contributed to this report.
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