United States military obliterated a vessel in international waters, killing three crew members allegedly tied to Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN), marking the seventh lethal strike in a relentless anti-drug campaign off South America’s coasts. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, announcing the Friday attack, claimed the boat was trafficking narcotics for the leftist guerrilla group, escalating a U.S. naval operation launched in August near Venezuela’s Caribbean waters. The operation, under U.S. Southern Command, has now claimed at least 32 lives across seven strikes, targeting boats accused of ferrying drugs to American shores.

The strike coincided with President Donald Trump’s bombshell decision to sever all U.S. financial aid to Colombia, previously the largest South American recipient with $740 million in 2023. In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of enabling “massive drug production” despite U.S. subsidies, repeatedly misspelling Colombia as “Columbia.” He warned Petro, a former guerrilla leader, to “close up these killing fields” or face U.S. intervention, hinting at potential military action. Petro retorted on X, urging Trump to distinguish between “drug traffickers and democrats,” accusing U.S. advisors of misleading him.

This clash marks a historic low in U.S.-Colombia relations, strained by Petro’s criticism of the naval campaign, including a September strike that killed a Colombian fisherman, which he called “murder.” Colombia has halted U.S. arms purchases, its top military supplier, and faces looming tariffs on its coffee and flower exports. Petro’s shift from forced coca eradication to addressing social causes has seen a 70% surge in coca cultivation, fueling U.S. frustration amid rising cocaine and fentanyl inflows.

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Legal concerns swirl, with experts questioning the strikes’ legality in international waters, citing no attempts at interception or trials. The campaign risks regional escalation, with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro fearing a U.S. regime-change plot. As Trump’s rhetoric intensifies and Petro vows to defend sovereignty, the Caribbean teeters on the edge of deeper conflict.

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