US President Donald Trump publicly accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being “an illegal drug leader”
A significant escalation in diplomatic hostilities has rocked the relationship between the United States and Colombia, one of Washington’s long-standing allies in Latin America.
US President Donald Trump publicly accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being “an illegal drug leader” and immediately announced that the US would cut all financial aid and subsidies to the country.
The dramatic pronouncements, delivered via a social media post and later reinforced to reporters, also included a threat to impose trade tariffs on Colombian goods, intensifying an already tense feud over US military actions targeting alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean.
The Presidential Ultimatum: Aid Cut and Tariff Threat
The unprecedented accusations and corresponding policy shifts were made by President Trump from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US President declared that his administration was immediately halting all financial payments to the South American nation.
“President Gustavo Petro of Colombia is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia,” Trump wrote.
He went on to assert that Petro “does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America. AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.”
Speaking to reporters later, the President doubled down on his rhetoric, calling President Petro “a lunatic” and labelling Colombia “a drug manufacturing machine.”
Furthermore, President Trump confirmed that he would be announcing new tariffs on Colombian exports, an economic weapon that analysts warn could severely damage the Colombian economy. Colombian imports to the US already face a baseline tariff, but the new, threatened levies would raise the cost significantly.
The President’s actions are driven by his administration’s claims that the leftist Petro government has failed to control the country’s rising coca cultivation and narcotics production.
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Trump administration had already “decertified” Colombia in September, arguing it was failing to meet its international drug control obligations, a move that only now appears to be triggering the most severe financial consequences.
A Feud Sparked by Military Strikes
The acrimonious relationship between the two leaders has been on a downward spiral for months, with the latest flashpoint being a series of controversial US military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
President Petro, for his part, has fiercely criticised the US military actions, describing them as violations of Colombian sovereignty and even calling them “murder.” Specifically, the Colombian President publicly accused the US of killing an innocent Colombian fisherman, Alejandro Carranza, during a September strike on an alleged drug boat.
This strong language has clearly enraged the US President. In his posts, Trump demanded that Petro “better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.
” This warning was seen by the Colombian Foreign Ministry as a “direct threat to national sovereignty” and an illegal suggestion of intervention in Colombian territory, prompting Bogotá to recall its ambassador from Washington for urgent consultations.
The US, meanwhile, continues to claim that the military operations are necessary to curb the flow of narcotics, particularly fentanyl, into the United States.
President Trump also claimed credit for destroying a “very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE” carrying fentanyl, asserting that the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
The Threat to a Long-time Alliance
Colombia has historically been one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America and a major recipient of US counter-narcotics assistance. The financial aid, though reduced in recent years, has been a cornerstone of their security relationship.
Analysts have warned that the current feud represents one of the most serious breakdowns in bilateral relations in decades, casting severe doubt over the future of vital security and counter-narcotics cooperation.
President Petro, who had previously faced tensions with Washington over his temporary refusal to accept US military flights of deported migrants, responded to the latest attacks by defending his administration’s peace initiatives and turning the blame back on the US.
“Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the United States… but you are rude and ignorant to Colombia,” Petro wrote on social media, while also stating that he respects the US people, but “The problem is with Trump, not with the USA.”
The US President’s decision to cut all aid and impose tariffs is viewed by experts as a heavy-handed, coercive tactic that could push the two nations’ relationship to the brink.
Colombia’s economy, which currently faces a trade deficit with the US, could suffer immensely from additional tariffs, just as the country struggles with a domestic security crisis.
The move signals a shift away from a decades-old cooperative partnership to one based on economic and military leverage, raising fears of instability across the region.
Headline Points
• Presidential Attack:
US President Donald Trump branded Colombian President Gustavo Petro “an illegal drug leader” and a “lunatic” on Sunday, accusing him of encouraging drug production in Colombia.
• Aid Cut Announcement:
Trump declared the US would immediately cut off all financial aid and subsidies to Colombia, which has historically been a major recipient of US counter-narcotics assistance.
• Tariff Threat:
The US President also threatened to enact new trade tariffs on Colombian exports, a move expected to be detailed this week, which could severely impact the country’s economy.
• Diplomatic Retaliation:
Colombia responded by recalling its ambassador from Washington, describing Trump’s statements as a “direct threat to national sovereignty” and illegal military intervention.
• Feud Origin:
The escalating tension is rooted in President Petro’s outspoken criticism of recent US military strikes in the Caribbean targeting alleged drug vessels, which he has called “murder.”
• Relationship Impact:
Analysts warn that the severe rhetoric and punitive actions mark one of the most serious breakdowns in the relationship between the two long-time allies.
