‘Inevitably difficult’: Inside a family’s fight against the US boat strikes

A telephone for justice

As portion of the petition to the Inter-American Commission connected Human Rights, the Carranza household is seeking compensation and a halt to the US strikes.

But the commission’s powers are limited. It tin analyse alleged violations, find authorities work and supply recommendations, but its decisions are non-binding, meaning that the US is not obligated to comply.

“It tin supply a measurement of justice, successful that it would beryllium a determination quality rights assemblage saying that the victims are close and merit to beryllium compensated,” said Pappier.

"But it would not instantly present reparations oregon full-fledged accountability."

Bringing the lawsuit earlier a US tribunal could yet beryllium much productive, Pappier added, but it would besides beryllium importantly much challenging.

Kovalik, the family's lawyer, told Al Jazeera helium is presently weighing those challenges.

The information that the alleged transgression took spot extracurricular of US territory could beryllium a obstruction to litigation, helium explained. So excessively could beryllium the ineligible protections granted to the US authorities and apical officials.

The US authorities enjoys sovereign immunity successful astir cases, and the Supreme Court ruled successful 2024 that the president enjoys "presumptive immunity" for immoderate "official acts" helium engages in.

“We are inactive considering a imaginable tribunal action,” Kovalik said.

Another situation is that the US has shown nary willingness to analyse the strikes oregon merchandise accusation that would assistance others bash so.

In a connection to Al Jazeera, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office confirmed that it has opened an enquiry into the US bombings, but experts pass that restricted entree to accusation could bounds its investigation.

Colombia would request penetration into US decisions astir the strikes to find transgression responsibility, said Schuller, the adept from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

Without US cooperation, however, “it's intolerable to get the accusation indispensable to accidental who could beryllium enactment connected proceedings for specified a strike", helium explained.

For now, Kovalik said that the Carranza household takes immoderate comfortableness successful knowing that “at slightest thing is being done”.

Since Carranza’s disappearance, relatives person been incapable to clasp a ceremonial without the fisherman's remains. His household besides is struggling financially due to the fact that Carranza was the household’s breadwinner, and his woman has a disablement that limits her quality to work.

Vega said that, if Carranza had been suspected of smuggling drugs, US authorities had a work to apprehension him, not termination him.

The load of proof, helium added, should beryllium connected the US government, not the family.

“Alejandro was 1 of our fishermen. He volition not halt being 1 unless proven otherwise.”