Family of Man Killed By U.S. Strike In The Caribbean Accuse Trump Admin Of Illegal Murder Before International Court

The family of a Colombian man killed by a U.S. strike in the Caribbean earlier this year has filed a formal complaint before an international court accusing the Trump administration of illegally killing him.

Concretely, the family of Alejandro Carranza told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that he was killed in a strike in the Caribbean on September 15.

"From numerous news reports, we know that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza and the murder of all those on such boats," reads a passage of the petition reported by ABC News.

"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 adds.

The outlet went on to note that Carranza's lawyer, Dan Kovalik, said his family "has no recourse to adequate and effective remedies in Colombia to obtain redress for the injuries they have suffered due to the actions of the United States."

The court in question can investigate the complaint and divulge its findings, but rulings would not be legally binding to the U.S.

Hegseth is facing increased scrutiny inside the U.S. as well, with some Republicans also slamming him over the reported actions. Republican Rep. Don Bacon said he should leave his post if it's confirmed that he was involved in the decision.

"We don't kill two survivors who are not posing an imminent threat to anybody. I want to make sure i get the facts, that what's being reported is true. Somebody should held accountable. It should be at the top, not the bottom," Bacon said, noting that officials who followed orders should not be the ones held accountable for the episode.

Asked if Hegseth should be the one to go if accounts are confirmed, Bacon said "absolutely." Sen Rand Paul also slammed him, saying it seems like the administration is "trying to pin the blame" for the potential consequences of the follow-on attack on "somebody else."

"Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this and it did not happen, that it was fake news and didn't happen. And then the next day, from the podium at the White House, they're saying it did happen," Paul said, in reference to the conflicting accounts from the administration following a report by The Washington Post on the matter.

"So either he was lying to us on Sunday or he's incompetent and didn't know it happened. Do we think there's any chance that on Sunday the secretary of defense didn't know there was a second strike?" Paul added.

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