U.S. forces strike Colombian fishing boat, killing two civilians mistaken for drug smugglers

On October 16, 2025, U.S. military forces operating in the Caribbean Sea fired upon a small vessel they identified as a drug smuggling boat. The strike resulted in the deaths of two men, while two others survived. While the Trump administration claimed the boat was involved in narcotics trafficking, local reports and family members identified the victims as Colombian fishermen with no ties to cartels. The incident marked the beginning of a controversial 'shoot-first' maritime interdiction policy.