(MENAFN) Colombian President Gustavo Petro has charged the United States with attempting to provoke a conflict in the Caribbean, disguising it as an anti-drug operation.

He also highlighted that Colombian nationals were killed during the most recent airstrikes conducted off Venezuela’s coast.

In a social media statement on Wednesday, Petro argued that the real motive behind the campaign is not drug control but the exploitation of resources in the area.

The White House, however, rejected his assertion as “baseless,” according to a media outlet.

The US has carried out airstrikes targeting vessels suspected of drug trafficking near Venezuela, claiming these actions aim to reduce narcotics smuggling in the Caribbean.

Washington has repeatedly accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of connections to drug cartels. Maduro has denied these allegations and maintained that the attacks are part of a plot to overthrow him.

In the past few weeks, the US has destroyed at least four boats it alleged were transporting drugs off Venezuela’s shore, resulting in the deaths of over 20 individuals.

Petro stated, “Evidence shows that the last boat bombed was Colombian, with Colombian citizens on board.”

He insisted that the US campaign is not focused on drug trafficking but on seizing control of natural resources.

“There is no war against smuggling; there is a war for oil,” he declared, labeling the strikes as “an aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

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