Petro urges criminal proceedings against Trump over Caribbean strikes at UN General Assembly

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that criminal proceedings should be opened against former U.S. President Donald Trump over a trio of deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean, arguing the actions targeted drug traffickers while killing passengers who were not part of organized crime.

In remarks aimed at world leaders, Petro condemned three attacks this month, which the White House has defended as operations against drug traffickers. He insisted the passengers on the vessels were not members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang, as the Trump administration claimed after the first strike, and he argued they were "simply poor young people from Latin America who had no other option."

Petro's UN remarks came as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced his government is preparing constitutional decrees to defend the country in the event of an attack by U.S. forces. The two neighbors have exchanged sharp rhetoric in recent days amid the strikes and a broader regional dispute over drug interdiction.

Details about the strikes remain sparse. The first strike, on Sept. 2, killed 11 people according to Washington. Officials said that the vessel and another targeted on Sept. 16 had departed from Venezuela. A third boat was hit on Friday, leaving three dead. The Trump administration has defended the escalation as vital to combat drug smuggling into the United States but has not explained how the ships’ cargo was assessed or how passengers were linked to specific criminal groups. National security officials later told Congress the first vessel was fired on after it changed course and appeared to head back to shore.

Petro argued that the U.S. action amounted to murder and accused Washington of criminalizing poverty and migration. He said, "Why launch a missile if you could simply stop the boat and arrest the crew," and questioned whether such strikes were really necessary. He added that Colombia has a long history of collaborating with American agencies in maritime seizures of cocaine, but stressed that, in his view, "No one has ever died before."

The United Nations has described the strikes as extrajudicial executions in some of its briefings, a characterization that underscored the concern over the legality and human cost of the operations. In the United States, members of the Democratic Party have pressed for more clarity on the legal basis for the strikes, and Trump’s aides have faced questions about the decision-making process behind the actions. Earlier this year, Trump issued a presidential memorandum decertifying Colombia for what Washington said was a failure to meet anti-drug commitments, a move Bogotá criticized as an insult to a country that has cooperated closely with U.S. counterdrug efforts for years.

The clashes have contributed to a cooling of relations between Bogota and Washington on some counterdrug policies, even as Colombia remains a key ally and recipient of U.S. aid. Washington has responded by expanding its regional naval presence and signaling a continued commitment to intercept cocaine shipments in the Caribbean, a move that some regional leaders say raises sovereignty concerns when paired with unilateral military actions.

As Petro pressed for accountability at the UN, the episode highlighted the broader geopolitical tensions over how to handle drug trafficking and migration in a region where multiple governments view U.S. counterdrug operations with skepticism and worry about potential civilian harm. The international reaction remains divided, with some nations urging restraint and adherence to international law, while others emphasize the necessity of aggressive measures to disrupt criminal networks.