Is the US killing innocent people?

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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Friday, his latest retaliation after Petro accused the US of murdering an innocent man.

What happened? Petro accused Trump in a social media post of having committed “murder” and violated Colombia’s sovereignty by killing Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman and Colombian citizen, in one of the at least 10 US strikes on alleged “drug boats” since early September.

The US hasn’t provided any information about how it’s choosing its targets, only insisting that they are drug boats full of cartel members — but rather than responding to Petro’s claim by releasing contrary evidence, Trump is lashing out against the accusations. In addition to sanctioning Petro, his family, and Colombia’s foreign minister, he also announced on Sunday that the US would suspend aid to Colombia.

Petro joins a short list of other foreign leaders to be personally targeted for US sanctions, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

What’s the context? The ongoing boat strikes, which have killed at least 43 people to date, are part of a larger Trump administration campaign against drug cartels, centering on Venezuela. The administration has argued it is justified in using deadly force because of a fictitious “noninternational armed conflict” against drug cartels.

Trump has also deployed an increasingly large military presence to the Caribbean, including an aircraft carrier strike group deployed on Friday.

Why does this matter? These attacks are almost certainly illegal, and they represent an extraordinarily broad power grab by the Trump administration. It’s not normal for a president to be able to kill his perceived enemies at will, anywhere around the world, with barely a pretense of justification. And it’s not normal to use the sanctions list as a tool of presidential pique, instead of a serious foreign policy tool to address bad actors.

And with that, it’s time to log off…

Let’s wrap up the week with a music recommendation: I’ve had Brandi Carlile’s excellent new album, Returning To Myself, on repeat for much of the day, and I think my favorite song from it might be “Church & State.” This live version at Red Rocks Amphitheatre is especially great. Have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday!