Caribbean boat strikes: Is the US killing harmless folks?

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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Friday, his newest retaliation after Petro accused the US of murdering an harmless man.

What occurred? Petro accused Trump in a social media put up of getting dedicated “homicide” and violated Colombia’s sovereignty by killing Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman and Colombian citizen, in one of many at the least 10 US strikes on alleged “drug boats” since early September.

The US hasn’t offered any details about the way it’s selecting its targets, solely insisting that they are drug boats filled with cartel members — however somewhat than responding to Petro’s declare by releasing opposite proof, Trump is lashing out towards the accusations. Along with sanctioning Petro, his household, and Colombia’s international minister, he additionally introduced on Sunday that the US would droop help to Colombia.

Petro joins a brief checklist of different international leaders to be personally focused for US sanctions, together with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

What’s the context? The continuing boat strikes, which have killed at the least 43 folks to this point, are half of a bigger Trump administration marketing campaign towards drug cartels, centering on Venezuela. The administration has argued it's justified in utilizing lethal pressure due to a fictitious “noninternational armed conflict” towards drug cartels.

Trump has additionally deployed an more and more giant navy presence to the Caribbean, together with an plane provider strike group deployed on Friday.

Why does this matter? These assaults are virtually definitely unlawful, and so they symbolize a very broad energy seize by the Trump administration. It’s not regular for a president to have the ability to kill his perceived enemies at will, anyplace around the globe, with barely a pretense of justification. And it’s not regular to make use of the sanctions checklist as a device of presidential pique, as a substitute of a critical international coverage device to deal with unhealthy actors.

And with that, it’s time to sign off…

Let’s wrap up the week with a music suggestion: I’ve had Brandi Carlile’s excellent new album , Returning To Myself , on repeat for a lot of the day, and I feel my favourite tune from it is likely to be “Church & State.” This live version at Crimson Rocks Amphitheatre is particularly nice. Have an ideal weekend and we’ll see you again right here on Monday!