Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday there are "hints" that the latest vessel struck by the U.S. "was Colombian and had Colombian citizens" on it.
Petro made the claim when responding to a post by Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, who anticipated his willingness to force a vote to block the strikes, claiming Congress has not authorized them. "They are illegal and risk dragging America into another war," Schiff said.
Petro agreed with the senator, noting that he will "say the same thing" in a meeting with representatives from "European governments."
"There is a new war front: the Caribbean. Hints show that the latest boat struck was Colombian and had Colombian citizens on it. I hope their families will come out and denounce it. There is no war against smuggling. It's a war for oil and it must be stopped by the world. The attack is against all of Latin America and the Caribbean," Petro said.
El senador Adam Shiff está en lo correcto.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 8, 2025
Ahora me encuentro en una reunión con los gobiernos Europeos y diré lo mismo.
Se ha abierto un nuevo escenario de guerra: el Caribe.
Indicios muestran que la última lancha bombardeada era colombiana con ciudadanos colombianos en su… https://t.co/CozMUBklxE
It is a new escalation in the head of state's rhetoric on the matter. On Tuesday he also claimed the U.S. will invade Venezuela following a report about President Donald Trump ending all diplomatic outreach to the South American country.
"The negotiation should not have revolved around free oil. It should have revolved around, like Biden said but lacked audacity, around free elections, a political agreement among Venezuelans and the end of the blockage. Now we're headed to an invasion based on lies," Petro said.
Petro was citing a report by The New York Times claiming that Trump ended all diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, instructing envoy Richard Grenell to cease all efforts as he grows frustrated with authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro's reluctance to relinquish power.
Petro also criticized Hegseth after the strike, saying that the people on the boat were not "narco-terrorists," but "poor young men from the Caribbean islands trying to survive."
"By bombing them with missiles like in Gaza, you are murdering the Caribbean people," Petro said.
He went on to claim that what the Trump administration really wants is "Venezuela and Guyana's oil, that's it."
"The use of anti-economic and murderous missiles has another goal. You want to harass us to get the oil for free," Petro added.
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