“Trying to promote peace in Colombia is not being a drug trafficker,” Petro wrote, adding that Trump is being deceived by his advisers.
Petro initially rejected U.S. military flights of deported migrants, leading Trump to threaten tariffs.
Petro and Trump have also been at odds over American strikes on boats in the Caribbean.
Petro said Carranza was a fisherman with no ties to drug trafficking, and his boat was malfunctioning when it was hit.
“The United States has invaded our national territory, fired a missile to kill a humble fisherman, and destroyed his family, his children.
Palm Beach, Florida. The United States is going to cut U.S. S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Colombia requires aid because its leader, Gustavo Petro, “does nothing to stop” drug production, further dividing Washington from one of its closest allies in Latin America.
Trump called Petro “an illegal drug dealer” who is “low rated and very unpopular” in a social media post. The Republican president threatened that Petro “better shut up” his drug operations, or the US will do it for him, and not in a nice way. “”.
Several hours later, Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, revealed the most recent U. A. attack on a ship allegedly transporting “substantial amounts of narcotics.”. “.”.
According to him, the ship was connected to the National Liberation Army, also known as the ELN, a rebel organization in Colombia that has been at odds with Petro’s administration. While he shared a short video clip of a boat engulfed in flames following an explosion on Friday, he did not offer any supporting evidence for his claims. In 1997, the State Department classified the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
Petro denied Trump’s charges and defended his efforts to combat drugs in Colombia, the world’s biggest cocaine exporter. Petro is as outspoken on social media as his American counterpart.
“Trying to advance peace in Colombia is not being a drug trafficker,” Petro wrote, adding that Trump’s advisors are misleading him. Petro referred to Trump as “rude and ignorant toward Colombia” and called himself “the main enemy” of drugs in his nation. “”.
In Colombia, Pedro Sánchez, the defense minister, told reporters that his nation “has lost men and women fighting drug trafficking and used all its capability.”. “.”.
The prospect of a growing conflict in Latin America, where the U.S. S. . Nicolás Maduro, the leader of neighboring Venezuela, is already under more pressure.
For what the administration has called an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, American drones, fighter jets, and naval vessels are stationed in the area. Additionally, Trump approved secret operations within Venezuela.
Colombia, in contrast to Venezuela, is a longstanding U. A. friend and the area’s largest beneficiary of US aid. However, according to the UN, coca cultivation hit a record high last year, and there has been new violence in rural areas where the government fought insurgents for years before striking a peace agreement ten years ago.
The Trump administration accused Colombia in September of not cooperating in the war on drugs, despite Washington at the time waiving sanctions that would have resulted in aid cuts.
An estimated $230 million was sent to Colombia in the U.S. A. The fiscal year concluded in September. 30, which is less than the $700 million in recent years, according to U. A. figures.
Trump has been at odds with Petro, Colombia’s first left-leaning president, on several occasions this year. At first, Petro turned U down. S. . Trump threatened tariffs after military flights of deported migrants were involved. Upon Petro’s attendance at the U.S. No. New York General Assembly because he instructed American soldiers to defy Trump’s directives.
American strikes on boats in the Caribbean have also caused friction between Petro and Trump. Petro’s accusation against the U.S. S. . pointing to a September government of assassination. 16 strike that, according to him, killed Alejandro Carranza, a Colombian. Carranza, according to Petro, was a fisherman who had nothing to do with drug trafficking, and his boat was broken when it was struck.
“The United States invaded our country, killed a poor fisherman with a missile, and destroyed his offspring and family.”. “They are using bombs to kill Bolívar’s children in his homeland,” Petro posted on social media. He claimed that he requested that the office of his nation’s attorney general start legal action both abroad and in the United States. S. courtrooms.
When asked about Petro’s allegations, neither the Pentagon nor the White House immediately responded.
His government intends to bring charges against the Colombian survivor of a more recent U.S. invasion, despite Petro’s criticism. S. . attack a submersible suspected of transporting drugs.
Prosecutors met with another survivor and concluded that he had committed no crimes within Ecuador’s borders, so the Ministry of the Interior said he would not be charged there.
Hegseth claimed that Friday’s strike was directed at the ELN, which has long denied any involvement in drug trafficking and submitted to an international commission’s investigation. Hegseth’s announcement was met with no response. The dismantling of cocaine labs and the confiscation of drugs thought to be guerrilla-owned are frequent reports from Colombian authorities.
Seven U’s have happened. S. strikes that the administration claims are aimed at suspected drug traffickers have been occurring in the area since early September. The death toll is at least 32.
According to Trump, Petro had “a fresh mouth toward America” on Sunday. He expressed dissatisfaction over the persistence of drug smuggling “despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long-term rip off of America.”. “”.
“THESE PAYMENTS, ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA AS OF TODAY,” he continued.
It is perplexing and incredibly foolish of the United States to distance itself from its most powerful military ally in Latin America at a time when tensions between Washington and Venezuela are at an all-time high, according to Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst for the Andes region at International Crisis Group. “”.
“That wisdom is being thrown out the window, with really catastrophic effects,” she said, referring to the long-standing foundational relationship between Washington and Bogota. “.”.
Colombia suffered a major U.S. S. financing when Trump cut the U. S. this year, the Agency for International Development. Additional budget cuts might impact military collaboration and jeopardize counterinsurgency initiatives.
“We will see a strategic loss of capability for the Colombian military and police at precisely the moment when they are confronting the greatest security crisis in Colombia for over a decade,” she said if that is cut.
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