Colombian President Petro Slams Latest U.S. Strike Against Alleged Drug Vessel: 'Only Poor People Doing That Job To Survive'

Colombian President Gustavo Petro slammed the latest strike conducted by the U.S. against an alleged drug vessel, saying people aboard the boats are "doing the job to survive."

"You have to not have a soul or not know Colombia to not know that aboard those boats are poor people born in the Caribbean doing the job to survive," Petro added in a social media publication.

Last week The Associated Press revealed in an investigation that people operating boats targeted by U.S. strikes in the Caribbean were indeed running drugs, but were not high-up in criminal organizations.

The outlet said it conducted dozens of interviews in villages from which some of the boats departed, managing to identify nine people on the boats. It noted that most of the men were in such boats for the first of second time and were going to be paid at least $500 for the trip. A few were laborers, other was a fisherman and another one a motorcycle taxi driver.

Two others, the AP noted, were low-level career criminals and one was a local crime boss who contracted smuggling services to traffickers. All of them used the boats to take drugs to Trinidad or other nearby islands, from where they would continue to other routes.

The latest attack, however, could be a prelude to further escalation, considering that the Trump administration has given the Maduro regime seven days before officially designating it as a terrorist organization, a move that paves the way for strikes against its members and infrastructure.

The Department of State said in a statement that the designation will go into effect on November 24, adding that the organization is "headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary."

Moreover, last Thursday Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear, which is aimed at targeting "narco-terrorists" and defend "our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people."

The publication has led to speculation about whether the administration will further escalate its actions in the region or is just putting a name to the operation, which has carried out at least 21 strikes against alleged drug vessels, killing more than 80 people.