Trump calls Colombia’s president an “illegal drug leader,” orders end to U.S. aid
**President Trump Calls Colombian Leader an “Illegal Drug Leader” and Pledges to End U.S. Aid**
Washington — On Sunday, President Donald Trump called Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” and pledged to end U.S. aid to the South American country. The announcement came after Petro criticized recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump accused President Petro of “encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields.” He added, “It has become the biggest business in [Colombia], by far, and 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.”
The president continued in all caps, stating:
“AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.”
Earlier the same day, President Petro took to X (formerly Twitter) to accuse the U.S. of mistakenly targeting a fishing vessel in a strike last month rather than a boat carrying drugs, as claimed by the U.S. at the time. Petro said a fisherman was killed in the attack and that the U.S. had “invaded national territory.”
This was not the first such allegation. Earlier this month, Petro claimed another boat struck by the U.S. military was carrying Colombian citizens—a claim the U.S. government denied.
Petro’s statements have intensified scrutiny around the administration’s strikes, which the U.S. has described as part of a broader campaign to combat drug smuggling and reduce the flow of narcotics into the United States.
The latest strike occurred last Thursday on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea. It marked the sixth known attack in the region since last month and the first where survivors were reported. Mr. Trump said on Saturday that the two survivors—one from Ecuador and one from Colombia—would be returned to their respective countries.
In his Sunday post, Mr. Trump reiterated that the U.S. would end payments and subsidies to Colombia, blaming the country’s drug production as fueling “the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc.” He also warned President Petro, describing him as a “low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America,” to either shut down what he called “these killing fields” or the U.S. would do so “and it won’t be done nicely.”
Responding to Mr. Trump’s allegations, Petro posted on X that he has been the “primary foe of drug trafficking” in Colombia in recent years.
Last month, the Trump administration added Colombia to its list of countries failing to meet their responsibilities in controlling drug trafficking for the first time in nearly 30 years. The U.S. Department of State highlighted that under Petro’s leadership, “coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record highs while Colombia’s government failed to meet even its own vastly reduced coca eradication goals.”
Despite this designation, the administration issued a waiver allowing Colombia—a long-time U.S. ally in anti-drug efforts—to continue receiving aid. However, it remains unclear what specific payments will now be cut following Mr. Trump’s announcement.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president in decades, has frequently clashed with the Trump administration. Beyond his social media criticism, he condemned the U.S. strikes at the United Nations last month and, during a protest event in New York, encouraged members of the U.S. military to “disobey” Mr. Trump’s orders. This prompted the State Department to revoke Petro’s visa.
The strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats have also drawn condemnation from neighboring Venezuela, which accused the Trump administration of aggression. Meanwhile, the U.S. has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of collaborating with drug cartels—a charge Maduro denies.
As tensions escalate, the future of U.S.-Colombia relations remains uncertain amid ongoing disputes over the war on drugs and regional sovereignty.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-colombia-president-illegal-drug-leader-end-aid/
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