Smoke on the horizon

The remains of the burnt boat on the beach near Puerto Lopez in the Guajira Peninsula. The vessel and assortment of singed flotsam on the beach appear to be the first physical evidence of the US campaign against what it calls ‘narco-terrorists’. — Federico Rios/The New York Times

A THUNDEROUS boom rang out through the windless late-afternoon air. Seconds later, smoke rose from the sea, as if the horizon were on fire.

Watching from the shore on Nov 6, Erika Palacio Fernandez pulled out her phone, unwittingly recording what experts say is the only verified, independent video known to date of the aftermath of a US airstrike in the Trump administration’s campaign against what it calls “narco-terrorists”.