Trump calls Colombia's Petro an ‘illegal drug dealer’ and announces an end to US aid to the country

President Donald Trump said Sunday helium would slash U.S. backing to Colombia due to the fact that the country's person "does thing to stop" cause production, successful what is the latest motion of friction betwixt Washington and 1 of its closest allies successful Latin America.

In a societal media post, Trump referred to Colombian President Gustavo Petro arsenic "an amerciable cause dealer" who is "low rated and precise unpopular." He warned that Petro "better adjacent up" cause operations "or the United States volition adjacent them up for him, and it won't beryllium done nicely."

Trump, portion astatine his Mar-a-Lago edifice successful Florida, wrote connected his Truth Social level that Petro is "strongly encouraging the monolithic accumulation of drugs, successful large and tiny fields" crossed Colombia, which the Republican president spelled arsenic Columbia. "Petro does thing to halt it, contempt ample standard payments and subsidies from the USA that are thing much than a agelong word rip disconnected of America," Trump said.

"AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLUMBIA," Trump said. He besides said Petro had "a caller rima toward America."

Earlier Sunday, Petro accused the U.S. authorities of assassination and demanded answers aft the latest American onslaught successful Caribbean waters. The U.S. said connected Saturday it was repatriating to Colombia and Ecuador 2 survivors from that attack, the sixth since aboriginal September. At slightest 29 radical person been killed successful strikes that the U.S. has said are targeting alleged cause traffickers.

In September, the Trump medication accused Colombia of failing to cooperate successful the cause war, though astatine the clip Washington issued a waiver of sanctions that would person triggered assistance cuts. Colombia is the world's largest exporter of cocaine, and the cultivation of the captious constituent of coca leaves reached an all-time precocious past year, according to the United Nations.

More recently, the State Department said it would revoke Petro's visa portion helium was successful New York for the U.N. General Assembly due to the fact that of his information successful a protestation wherever helium called connected American soldiers to halt pursuing Trump's commands. "I inquire each the soldiers of the United States' army, don't constituent your rifles against humanity" and "disobey the orders of Trump," Petro said.

Petro said a Colombian antheral was killed successful a Sept. 16 onslaught and identified him arsenic Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman from the coastal municipality of Santa Marta. He said that Carranza has nary ties to cause trafficking and that his vessel was malfunctioning erstwhile it was hit.

"U.S. authorities officials person committed execution and violated our sovereignty successful territorial waters," Petro wrote connected X. "The Colombian vessel was adrift and had a distress awesome on, with 1 motor up. We await explanations from the US government."

Petro said that helium has alerted the lawyer general's bureau and demanded that it enactment instantly to initiate ineligible proceedings internationally and successful U.S. courts. He continued to station a flurry of messages into aboriginal Sunday astir the killing.

"The United States has invaded our nationalist territory, fired a rocket to termination a humble fisherman, and destroyed his family, his children. This is Bolívar's homeland, and they are murdering his children with bombs," Petro wrote.

Meanwhile, Noticias Caracol, a Colombian quality program, reported that the antheral injured successful the astir caller onslaught was hospitalized aft helium was repatriated and remains successful superior condition.

It quoted Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti arsenic saying that the Colombian "will beryllium prosecuted, helium volition beryllium received—forgive the harsh expression—as a criminal, due to the fact that truthful acold what is known is that helium was carrying a vessel afloat of cocaine, which successful our state is simply a crime, and contempt the information that it was successful planetary waters, his repatriation volition beryllium arsenic if helium were being prosecuted successful the United States.