Colombian President Demands Probe into Corpses Washing onto Beaches

(MENAFN) Colombian President Gustavo Petro has demanded forensic investigations after multiple corpses washed onto beaches, raising alarm that casualties from US military anti-drug operations are now reaching shore.

The Colombian leader released disturbing images and footage Sunday via X, the social platform, depicting human remains recovered along La Guajira—a northern coastal department sharing borders with Venezuela where US forces have aggressively targeted suspected narcotics traffickers.

"Bodies found in the far north of La Guajira. We await identification by forensic medicine," Petro wrote.

The president described how the remains emerged from Caribbean waters near La Guajira, directing medical examiners to determine identities while coordinating with Venezuelan prosecution authorities across the border.

"They may be deaths from bombing in the sea," Petro said.

Washington has launched no fewer than 22 combat strikes against vessels believed to be smuggling drugs throughout the Caribbean basin and Eastern Pacific zone since September, resulting in at least 87 confirmed fatalities.

Military escalation across Latin American waters has intensified dramatically in recent months, with US forces deploying Marine units, naval destroyers, advanced fighter aircraft, strategic bombers, submarine assets, and unmanned aerial surveillance systems throughout the region.

MENAFN08122025000045017169ID1110450297