Author: dizzy
Hegseth ‘Responsible’ for ‘Murder’: Family Files Formal Complaint Over Killing of Colombian Fisherman
Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC on December 2, 2025.
(Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)According to the official filing, Trump’s Defense Secretary “has admitted that he gave such orders despite the fact that he did not know the identity of those being targeted for these bombings and extra-judicial killings.”
The family of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza Medina, believed killed by the US military in a boat bombing in the Caribbean Sea on Sept. 15, has filed a formal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights accusing US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of murder over the unlawful attack.
“From numerous news reports, we know that [Hegseth] was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza and the murder of all those on such boats,” reads the petition, filed Tuesday on behalf of Carranza’s family by Dan Kovalik, a human rights attorney based in Pittsburgh.
“Secretary Hegseth,” the petition continues, “has admitted that he gave such orders despite the fact that he did not know the identity of those being targeted for these bombings and extra-judicial killings.”
The complaint also notes that President Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the US military, “ratified the conduct of Secretary Hegseth described herein.”
First reported on by The Guardian, the filing of the petition with the IACHR—an autonomous body under the charter of Organization of American States (OAS) designed to uphold human rights in the Western Hemisphere—could result in the initiation of an investigation and the release of findings about the bombing that took the life of Carranza and two other individuals believed to be aboard the vessel.
The petition, the outlet noted, “marks the first formal complaint over the airstrikes by the Trump administration against suspected drug boats, attacks that the White House says are justified under a novel interpretation of law.” Experts in international human rights law have stated from the outset that the administration’s justifications lack legal basis and that the attacks constitute unlawful criminal acts.
According to The Guardian:
Carranza, 42, appears to have been killed in the second strike of the Trump administration’s bombing campaign, on 15 September. The administration has publicly disclosed 21 strikes on alleged drug boats. Carranza’s family says he was a fisher who would often set out in search of marlin and tuna.
On the day of the strike, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that “This morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility”. Trump attached video marked “unclassified” of a small boat floating in the water before it was struck.
Both Hegseth, the highest-ranked civilian at the Pentagon, and Trump have been under growing scrutiny for the series of boat bombings that have resulted in the extrajudicial killing of over 80 people since September. Experts have said the killings should be seen as “murder, plain and simple.”
New revelations about a strike on Sept. 2, in which two survivors of an initial bombing were later killed as they clung to the exploded boat on which they were traveling, has evelated that concern in Washington, DC this week with lawmakers seeking answers about the attack which, even if one accepted the legality of the initial strike under the construct the Trump administration has tried to claim, would constitute a clear human rights violation amounting to a war crime.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse in October, Katerine Hernandez, Carranza’s wife in Colombia, said her husband was “a good man” devoted to fishing and providing for his family. “Why did they just take his life like that?” she asked.
Hernandez denies that Carranza was involved in drug trafficking, as Trump and Hegseth have alleged without providing evidence, but also suggested that even if drug trafficking was taking place, it would not justify his murder. “The fishermen have the right to live,” she said. “Why didn’t they just detain them?”
In a Tuesday statement, the IACHR urged the US government to “ensure respect for human rights” during any and all extraterritorial military operations in the region, noting the deaths of a high number of persons both in the Caribbean and in the Pacific, where other strikes have taken place.
“While acknowledging the seriousness of organized crime and its impact on the enjoyment of human rights, the Commission recalls that States are obliged to respect and ensure the right to life of all persons under their jurisdiction,” the statement reads.
“According to the Inter-American jurisprudence, this duty extends to situations when State agents exercise authority or effective control, including extraterritorial actions at sea,” it continues. “When lethal force is used by security or military personnel outside national territory, States have the obligation to demonstrate that such actions were strictly lawful, necessary, and proportionate, and to investigate, ex officio, any resulting loss of life. These obligations persist irrespective of where the operations occur, or the status attributed to the individuals affected. Likewise, persons under State control must always enjoy full respect for due process and humane treatment.”
The commission called on the US to “refrain from employing lethal military force in the context of public security operations, ensuring that any counter-crime or security operation fully complies with international human rights standards; conduct prompt, impartial, and independent investigations into all deaths and detentions resulting from these actions; and adopt effective measures to prevent recurrence.”
Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist. 
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough. - Legal Experts Accuse Hegseth of ‘War Crimes, Murder, or Both’ After New Reporting on Boat Strike Order
- Because ‘This Is Murder,’ Family of Colombian Fisherman Killed by Trump Readies Legal Fight
- There They Go Again: Venezuela Edition
- Pope Leo Presses Trump to End Military Escalation Against Venezuela
- Maduro Vows Venezuela Will Be a ‘Colony Never Again’ as Trump Intensifies Threats
‘Political Stunt Wrapped in Badges’: New Orleans Readies Resistance as Trump Operation Begins
Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
A [man] with a bloody face and sunglasses askew suggests a violent arrest by masked US Customs and Border Patrol agents in New Orleans on December 3, 2025. (Photo by Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images) “Our city is not a stage for political theater,” said the Democratic congressman representing New Orleans. “Our people are not props.”
The Trump administration on Wednesday launched a major operation against what it said are “criminal illegal aliens” in New Orleans but that critics contend is political theater targeting what the Louisiana city’s mayor-elect called people “just trying to survive and do the right thing.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that it launched Operation Catahoula Crunch—which some Trump administration officials are also calling “Swamp Sweep”—because New Orleans is a sanctuary city that refuses to cooperate with the anti-immigrant crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump.
The blitz—which began on the same day as a similar operation in Minneapolis and follows federal invasions of cities including Charlotte; Chicago; Los Angeles; Memphis; Portland, Oregon; and Washington, DC—is expected to involve at least hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops and reportedly aims for 5,000 arrests in Louisiana and Mississippi.
“Sanctuary policies endanger American communities by releasing illegal criminal aliens and forcing DHS law enforcement to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens that should have never been put back on the streets,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Wednesday.
While McClaughlin claimed the targets of the operation will be “monsters” that “include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape,” examination of detention statistics of similar operations in other communities has shown that a large percentage of those swept up have no criminal record.
Academic studies and analyses by both left– and right-wing groups and have repeatedly affirmed that undocumented immigrants commit crime at a dramatically lower rate than native-born US citizens. The libertarian Cato Institute last week published data showing that nearly three-quarters of the 44,882 people booked into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since October had no criminal conviction and just 5% had been convicted of violent crimes.
Detention data published last month by the Department of Justice revealed that just 16 out of 614 people arrested in the Chicago area during DHS’s Operation Midway Blitz had criminal histories that present a “high public safety risk.”
Elected officials representing New Orleans called the DHS operation an unnecessary and unwelcome stunt.
“It’s one thing if you would have a real strategic approach on going after people… who have criminal felonies or are being accused of some very serious and violent crimes. But that’s not what the public is seeing,” Democratic New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Morena told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
“They’re seeing people who are just trying to survive and do the right thing—and many of them now have American children who are not causing problems in our community—treated like they are violent, violent criminals,” she added.
Moreno’s website published a “know your rights” resource page with tips from the National Immigrant Justice Center—a move that could possibly run afoul of a state law cited by Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill to threaten felony prosecution of people who nonviolently resist Trump’s crackdown. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the law is a violation of the right to free speech.
Congressman Troy Carter (D-La.) said in a statement Tuesday that “if the administration truly wants to support public safety in New Orleans, they can help us recruit and retain well-trained local officers, invest in modern policing tools, and build transparent partnerships with city and parish leaders.”
“Dropping armed federal agents and National Guard troops into our communities without coordination is not cooperation—it is chaos,” Carter continued. “As Congressman for New Orleans, I want to be clear: We will always stand for the rule of law. We will always stand for safe communities. And we will always stand against tactics that terrorize families and undermine public trust.”
“Our city is not a stage for political theater,” he added. “Our people are not props. If the administration wants to be a partner, then act like one; share the plan, respect local law, and work with us, not around us.”
Hundreds of New Orleans residents took to the streets Monday night despite cold, heavy rain to protest the impending DHS operation. Demonstrators shared umbrellas and held signs showing support for immigrants. They chanted messages, including “No ICE! No fear! Immigrants are welcome here!” and “Chinga la Migra”—roughly translated as “Fuck the Border Patrol.”
“We have to fight for the rights of everyone. I’m out here to support the immigrant community because it’s an integral part of New Orleans. New Orleans was built by immigrants,” protester Jamie Segura told Gambit.
Addressing the crowd at Monday’s rally, resident Mitch Gonzalez said: “This is my home. My trans sister was kidnapped and taken from me. Now she has to fight from Mexico, not even her home country, because they’re snatching people.”
As New Orleans residents anticipated the impending operation, mutual aid groups kicked into action in defense of immigrant communities, citing effective rapid response efforts in Chicago.
“What we’ve learned is that even a street witness who is not recording makes these interactions less traumatic and less violent,” Beth Davis, press liaison officer at Indivisible NOLA, told the Washington Post on Wednesday. “So we need to get eyes on these people.”
The New Orleans branch of Democratic Socialists of America—which is hosting training sessions—said ahead of the federal blitz: “We call upon all of New Orleans to get organized and resist this fascist occupation. Protect your neighbors and make these troops and federal agents feel unwelcome in every part of our city.”
Other Orleanians prepared by closing or displaying signs telling the federal invaders that they are not welcome.
“We’re going to make sure that any hotel that they stay at, any neighborhood that they try to terrorize, we’re going to bring as many people there to stop them in their tracks, whether it’s in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago—anywhere in this country,” Antonia Mar of Freedom Road Socialist Organization told Verite News during Monday’s protest.
Suggesting that the crackdown could backfire, Mar added that “if there’s one thing Trump does well, he gets people organized against him.”
Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist. After Trump’s Latest Racist Rant, Ilhan Omar Hopes ‘He Gets the Help He Desperately Needs’
Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is seen before President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images) “His obsession with me is creepy,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American ever elected to the US Congress.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American ever elected to the US Congress, said Tuesday that she hopes President Donald Trump “gets the help he needs” after he ended a Cabinet meeting with a bigoted tirade against Somali immigrants.
Trump specifically attacked Minnesota’s Somali community—falsely claiming that “they contribute nothing”—and singled out Omar (D-Minn) by name, calling her “garbage” and a “terrible person.”
Omar hit back in a brief social media post, characterizing the president’s remarks as clear evidence that he’s unwell.
“His obsession with me is creepy,” Omar wrote.
His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs. https://t.co/pxOpAChHse
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 2, 2025Trump’s comments came as his administration prepared to target Somali immigrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Around 80,000 Somalis live in Minnesota.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the directive for ICE raids in Minnesota “came immediately after” Trump used his social media platform to launch an appalling attack on Somalis and others in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members. The man charged with the shooting is an Afghan national who worked as a member of a CIA-backed “Zero Unit” during the war in Afghanistan before resettling in the US.
Kristi Noem, head of the US Department of Homeland Security, has exploited the shooting to ramp up the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda, proposing what she called “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” echoing Trump’s white nationalist rhetoric.
Following Trump’s latest attack on Somalis, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that the president’s “disgraceful attacks on Minnesota’s Somali community are injecting more of his poisonous racism into our beloved home state.”
“Hearing him single out our people based solely on their race and country of origin is downright disgusting,” Ellison said. “Minnesotans stand up for our neighbors when they’re under attack. And as Minnesota’s attorney general, I will use every tool I have to protect all our neighbors, including our vibrant Somali community, from these dangerous, racist threats. Our neighbors deserve no less.”
Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist. UN calls for full reopening of Rafah crossing for Gazans
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Palestinians continue their daily lives with limited resources amid the massive destruction in the Tel al Hawa neighborhood in western Gaza, following Israeli army attacks. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency] A UN spokesman on Wednesday urged the full reopening of the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid and civilian movement, as conflicting reports emerged from Israel and Egypt about whether operations at the key entry point would soon resume, Anadolu reports.
Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN is aware of contradictory statements—Israel suggesting the crossing would reopen soon and Egypt denying any such coordination.
“Like you, we’ve seen contradicting reports,” Dujarric said.
“What we want to see is Rafah reopened fully for the movement of humanitarian cargo, for the movements of people, and both for humanitarian workers. If residents of Gaza, Palestinians, want to leave, they need to be able to do so voluntarily and freely without any pressure. And for those residents of Gaza who may have left the enclave a while ago, if they wish to return, they should be able to return,” he added.
Dujarric underscored that any reopening hinges on coordination between Israel and Egypt but insisted that humanitarian imperatives must take precedence.
“What we think we need to see is a reopening of Rafah for humanitarian cargo to be able to go in, for humanitarian workers to go in and out, and for Palestinians who wish to leave to be able to do so freely, safely, without any pressure to do so. And for those who have left and wish to come back, and therefore, they want to come back, they should be able to come back,” he added.
Dujarric said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to receive reports that air strikes, shelling, gunfire, and other Israeli military operations are causing more civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction in the Gaza Strip.
READ: 4 Israeli soldiers injured in clashes in southern Gaza, military says
He said things are “better than” they were before the announcement of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“But, you know, we’re comparing a horrific situation to an extremely challenging one, to say the least,” he added.
The Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza was scheduled to reopen last October as part of the ceasefire agreement, but it remained closed due to Israel’s non-compliance with the deal.
Since May 2024, the Israeli army has blocked the movement of Palestinians through the crossing, the territory’s only window to the outside world that was not controlled by Tel Aviv before the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza in October 2023.
Turning to the Israeli killing of two Palestinian children on Saturday in a drone strike in southern Gaza, Dujarric said it was “horrific to say the least.”
“It’s hard to see how two boys — 8 and 10 — can be considered a threat, and there needs to be an investigation. And accountability for what happened,” he added.
The area targeted by the strike lies within the zones the Israeli army continues to hold under the ceasefire agreement, which took effect in October.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel. Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts. 
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
