Colombia airstrikes on Guerrillas kill six minors as Petro confronts intensifying US criticism

Colombia’s drug-war flashpoint escalates

Six minors were killed this week when Colombia's military launched airstrikes against an alleged drug-running armed group in the country's southern Amazon region, the national ombudsman's office said Saturday.

Iris Marin, head of the office, told reporters that "six minors who had been victims of forced recruitment" died in the operation, ordered by President Gustavo Petro as he faces US pressure to increase crackdowns on drug trafficking.

Colombia's military announced on Tuesday that it had carried out airstrikes in the Amazon region in the early hours of November 10, killing 19 members of an ex-FARC splinter group.

Additionally, a defense ministry source told AFP on Friday that the military had killed nine suspected guerrilla fighters in strikes in Arauca province, near the Venezuelan border.

The operations are part of Petro's intensifying attacks against armed groups involved in cocaine trafficking, following fierce criticism from US President Donald Trump over alleged inaction on drug production.

Local media reported that authorities were investigating whether the latest strike killed Antonio Medina, a high-ranking rebel commander responsible for a bloody war between ex-FARC fighters and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group.

Colombia's leftist president has been facing pre-election criticism and US sanctions for his alleged reluctance to target armed cocaine-trafficking groups.

In October, Washington slapped unprecedented sanctions on Petro, his wife, son, and a top aide, accusing them of enabling drug cartels.

The US government provided no evidence linking Petro directly to drug trafficking.

Since taking power in 2022, Petro, himself a former guerilla, had previously opted to engage well-armed cocaine-producing groups in talks, rather than conduct open warfare.

He is constitutionally barred from running for president again, but the criticism risks damaging his political allies during next year's elections.