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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 not less than 10 US strikes on alleged “drug boats” since early September.
The US hasn’t supplied any details about the way it’s selecting its targets, solely insisting that they are drug boats stuffed with cartel members — however somewhat than responding to Petro’s declare by releasing opposite proof, Trump is lashing out in opposition to the accusations. Along with sanctioning Petro, his household, and Colombia’s overseas minister, he additionally introduced on Sunday that the US would droop support to Colombia.
Petro joins a brief record of different overseas 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 not less than 43 individuals so far, are half of a bigger Trump administration marketing campaign in opposition to drug cartels, centering on Venezuela. The administration has argued it’s justified in utilizing lethal power due to a fictitious “noninternational armed battle” in opposition to drug cartels.
Trump has additionally deployed an more and more massive navy presence to the Caribbean, together with an plane service strike group deployed on Friday.
Why does this matter? These assaults are nearly definitely unlawful, they usually signify 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, wherever around the globe, with barely a pretense of justification. And it’s not regular to make use of the sanctions record as a device of presidential pique, as a substitute of a critical overseas coverage device to handle unhealthy actors.
And with that, it’s time to log out…
Let’s wrap up the week with a music advice: I’ve had Brandi Carlile’s wonderful new album, Returning To Myself, on repeat for a lot of the day, and I feel my favourite tune from it may be “Church & State.” This dwell model at Crimson Rocks Amphitheatre is particularly nice. Have a terrific weekend and we’ll see you again right here on Monday!
