A Colombian family has filed a formal petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), alleging that 42-year-old Colombian national Alejandro Carranza Medina was unlawfully killed in a US military airstrike on September 15, 2025.

The petition, submitted on Tuesday, marks the first formal complaint against a series of airstrikes ordered by the Trump administration as part of its illegal operations in the Caribbean. The White House has defended the campaign under a novel legal framework, though one that has been refuted by legal scholars, claiming the strikes target "extraordinarily violent" narcotraffickers operating in the region.

Since the beginning of its renewed military campaign, the Trump administration has launched 21 airstrikes on what it alleged were drug boats. These operations, often launched without prior identification of those on board, have raised serious concerns among human rights organizations and legal experts.

The case of Alejandro Carranza Medina

According to the complaint, Alejandro Carranza Medina, a civilian fisherman, was aboard a small vessel in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia when the strike occurred on September 15. His family stated that Carranza often fished for marlin and tuna and had no known links to any criminal activity.

Pittsburgh-based human rights attorney Dan Kovalik filed the petition. It reads: "On September 15, 2025, the United States military bombed the boat of Alejandro Andres Carranza Medina, which Mr. Carranza was sailing in the Caribbean off the coast of Colombia. Mr. Carranza was killed in the process of this bombing."

Kovalik accused US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of directly ordering the airstrike. "From numerous news reports, we know that Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Medina and the murder of all those on such boats," the filing states. "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."

The complaint also claims that Trump "ratified the conduct" of Hegseth, directly linking the executive office to the strike.

Complaint filed with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

The IACHR, a Washington, DC-based body under the Organization of American States (OAS), is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights across the Western Hemisphere. The United States remains a member and, as of March 2025, reaffirmed its commitment to the Commission’s work. A statement from the Trump administration’s State Department at the time emphasized that "preserving the IACHR’s autonomy is a pillar of our human rights policy in the region."

Kovalik described the petition as a significant step. "We think this is a viable way to challenge the killing of Alejandro. We are going to seek redress for the family. We want the US to be ordered to stop doing these boat attacks. It may be a first step, but we think it’s a good first step," he said.

The White House has not directly responded to questions regarding Carranza Medina’s death or the filed complaint. However, spokesperson Anna Kelly dismissed media inquiries in a statement, claiming journalists were "now running cover for foreign terrorists smuggling deadly narcotics intended to murder Americans."

Carranza’s family maintains that he was a "non-combatant engaged in lawful fishing activity" and that his death represents an unlawful act of force. The legal complaint asserts that the US violated both domestic and international human rights laws through its actions.