Donald Trump’s so-called war on drugs has now turned into something far darker, What was meant to be a campaign against “narcoterrorists” is now being called murder by Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro. In the heat of Trump’s tough talk, a Colombian fisherman, Alejandro Carranza, lost his life, and his death has become a symbol of how America’s fight against drugs often crosses the line between justice and arrogance.
A Fisherman, Not a Smuggler
Petro accused the United States of killing an innocent man and violating Colombia’s sovereignty. Carranza wasn’t a cartel kingpin or a smuggler, he was a simple fisherman trying to make a living. Yet, under Trump’s military campaign, he became another casualty of what many now call a reckless and bloody drug war. The Colombian leader’s anger makes sense, it’s one thing to fight crime, but it’s another to destroy lives in the name of “security.”
Trump’s Dangerous Pride
Trump’s defenders will say his campaign is bold and effective. But boldness without accountability is just recklessness. He boasts that his military operations are choking the drug routes, yet there’s no proof that those killed were traffickers. When a fisherman ends up dead, and the U.S. calls it “collateral damage,” it says more about Trump’s obsession with appearing strong than about solving the drug problem. What kind of justice kills the innocent to prove a point?
Colombia’s Breaking Point
Colombia is tired, tired of being America’s battleground in a war that never ends. Petro’s outrage on social media wasn’t just about Carranza, it was about years of Washington treating Latin America like its backyard. He has even called for criminal proceedings against Trump at the United Nations, to show how deep the frustration runs. For Petro, this has escalated beyond diplomacy, it’s a demand for respect.
Bottom Line
If Trump continues to fight his wars with arrogance and blood, then more innocent people like Carranza will pay the price for a conflict they never signed up for. What was once called a war on drugs has now become a war on the powerless.