US, Colombia tensions surge as Presidents Trump, Petro trade threats

Donald Trump and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro person engaged successful a caller circular of verbal sparring, with the United States president calling his South American counterpart a “thug” who is “making a batch of drugs”, and the Colombian person threatening ineligible enactment against Trump successful US courts.

Weeks of escalating hostility betwixt Washington and Bogota deed a caller level connected Wednesday erstwhile Trump told reporters astatine the White House helium was suspending each subject assistance to Colombia owed to its alleged relation successful the planetary narcotics commercialized and warned Petro to “watch it”.

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“He’s a thug and he’s a atrocious guy, and he’s wounded his state precise badly,” Trump said.

“They’re doing precise poorly, Colombia. They marque cocaine. They person cocaine factories … and helium amended ticker it oregon we’ll instrumentality precise superior enactment against him and his country,” the US president said.

“What helium has led his state into is simply a decease trap,” Trump added.

Responding to the US president’s threat, Petro took to societal media to denote helium would instrumentality ineligible enactment against Trump’s slanderous remarks.

“From the slanders that person been formed against maine successful the territory of the United States by high-ranking officials, I volition support myself judicially with American lawyers successful the American justness system,” Petro wrote connected X.

“I volition ever basal against genocides and murders by those successful powerfulness successful the Caribbean,” helium said, adding that erstwhile Colombian “help is required to combat against cause trafficking, American nine volition person it”.

“We volition combat against the cause traffickers with the states that privation our help,” Petro added.

Last weekend, Trump labelled Petro a “drug trafficking leader” and threatened to summation tariffs connected Colombian exports.

Petro responded by accusing the US president of violating planetary commercialized agreements and acting similar a “king” successful Latin America. He besides recalled Colombia’s ambassador to Washington and said Colombian troops would not enactment a imaginable US subject involution successful neighbouring Venezuela, wherever Trump has besides labelled the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, a cause trafficker.

“What Colombian would assistance invade wherever their ain household lives, lone to spot them killed similar successful Gaza?” Petro said.

Colombia and US confederation astatine risk

Colombia’s ambassador to the US, Daniel Garcia Pena, speaking to the AFP quality bureau successful Bogota wherever helium has been recalled, said Trump’s latest remarks were “unacceptable”.

“Under nary circumstances tin 1 warrant that benignant of threats and accusations that person nary ground whatsoever,” Pena said, informing that the 200-year confederation betwixt Colombia and the US was being enactment astatine risk.

The increasing warfare of words betwixt Trump and Petro follows the US administration’s announcement successful September that it would decertify Colombia’s counter-narcotics efforts, claiming the state failed to conscionable its obligations to combat cause trafficking.

It besides comes amid expanding threats by Trump against Venezuela’s President Maduro and a US subject build-up successful the Caribbean, including attacks connected vessels which the US claims are progressive successful cause smuggling, without providing immoderate evidence.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed earlier connected Wednesday that US forces had, for the archetypal clip successful the determination build-up, conducted a onslaught connected a vas travelling successful planetary waters successful the eastbound Pacific Ocean, sidesplitting 2 people.

Hegseth alleged the victims were “narco-terrorists”, without providing immoderate evidence.

The attack is the eighth by the US subject successful caller weeks against alleged cause traffickers connected the precocious seas – involving 7 boats and 1 semi-submersible – with 34 radical killed truthful far, according to US figures.

The root of the vessels attacked by the US has not been disclosed, though immoderate were destroyed disconnected Venezuela’s coast, portion astatine slightest 1 came from Trinidad and Tobago, and different from Colombia, families of the deceased told AFP.

International instrumentality experts accidental the Trump administration’s summary killings of radical successful planetary waters are illegal. Even if those killed are confirmed to beryllium cause traffickers, they inactive person the close to owed ineligible process.

While Colombia is the world’s apical cocaine producer, successive governments successful Bogota person agelong worked alongside the US to curb production, which is controlled by a scope of well-funded cartels and equipped paramilitary groups and rebels.

In a aboriginal station connected societal media connected Wednesday, Petro said 17,000 cocaine factories successful Colombia had been destroyed during his clip successful government.

Le informó al mundo que llevo 17.000 fábricas de cocaína destruidas en mi gobierno https://t.co/0KQclu7mC6

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 23, 2025

Translation: I informed the satellite that I person destroyed 17,000 cocaine factories during my government.