The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced that he will request the United Nations to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by the United States in the context of its anti-drug policy in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, according to the Argentine News Agency (NA).
The head of state made the announcement through the social network X, stating that he will formally ask the UN Secretary-General to create a rapporteur position to analyze US military interventions in the region.
Allegations of extrajudicial killings and violations of international law
«It is unacceptable in any way that the fight against drugs includes human rights violations, such as systematic murder by public officials,» warned Petro, accusing the United States of firing missiles at small boats in international waters.
The Colombian president maintained that these actions constitute violations of international law and also proposed the formation of an international committee of jurists to evaluate the facts. Petro recalled that Colombia managed to promote in the UN Human Rights Commission the principle that the fight against drugs should not involve violations of human rights, and noted that this criterion must be respected globally.
The president's statement came after the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, described the US attacks as «unacceptable,» defining them as «extrajudicial operations.»
Within the framework of its new anti-drug policy, the United States deployed military forces in the Caribbean since last September and carried out more than 20 bombings against boats allegedly carrying drugs, operations that would have left more than 80 dead, according to Petro's denunciation.
The head of state of Colombia reiterated his call for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to join in a regional protest, considering that these actions violate the sovereignty of the region's states.
