What is the story about?
Donald Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an “illegal drug leader,” saying the US will halt all aid to the country and impose fresh tariffs in a dramatic escalation of tensions with one of Washington’s closest security partners in Latin America.
Trump claimed drug trafficking “has become the biggest business in Colombia” and said Petro “does nothing to stop it” despite years of US funding. “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS... WILL NO LONGER BE MADE,” the US president wrote Sunday on social media.
The announcement follows Trump’s September decision to “decertify” Colombia as a partner in fighting narcotics, relegating the longtime US ally to the same category as Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The move comes amid the largest cocaine boom in history, with most of the supply originating in Colombia.
Petro hit back, saying on X that “Trump is being deceived” by advisers, and adding that he has done more than any other leader to expose links between drug traffickers and Colombia’s political elite.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Sunday that he would impose tariffs on Colombia as punishment for its drug trade and would announce the rate on Monday, calling the country “a drug manufacturing machine.”
Colombia has received about $14 billion in US aid this century, including roughly $500 million since 2017 for military modernization, demining, and counternarcotics operations. Petro, who took office in 2022, has sought “total peace” through negotiations with guerrillas and crime groups rather than force — a strategy that has yet to curb violence or cocaine output.
Unable to seek reelection when his term ends next August, Petro has tried to rally the left to preserve his agenda, portraying Trump as a foil and himself as a global leader of progressive causes.
Visa Spat
Relations deteriorated further in September when, during a pro-Palestinian protest at the UN, Petro called on American soldiers to disobey Trump, which led to the US canceling his visa. Petro shrugged off the move, but later threatened to renegotiate Colombia’s trade pact with the US, while top ministers said they’d give up their own visas.
Over the weekend, Trump announced that two survivors of a US attack on a submarine he claimed was carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean will be returned to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador. Petro responded in a post on X that US government officials committed a “murder” in the vessel attacks.
In his post on Sunday, Trump said Petro has “a fresh mouth toward America.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced Sunday a separate US strike conducted Friday against a boat he said was affiliated with a Colombian guerrilla faction that was smuggling narcotics. He posted a video of the attack on X.
The standoff between Trump and Petro marks a sharp contrast to the more measured approaches of Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum.
An escalation of the conflict could derail a rally in Colombian assets that’s gathered steam in recent months. Investors have been betting the country will pivot to a more market-friendly government after next year’s presidential election. Dollar bonds have returned almost 10% in the past three months, one of the best performances in Latin America, according to a Bloomberg index.
Colombia now produces more than six times as much cocaine as it did when Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, more than Peru and Bolivia combined.
“Cutting aid will only empower criminal groups, this time with nothing to counter their strength, and it seems that Trump’s decision is irreversible,” said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis.
Read Also: Asian shares rise as US-China trade tensions cool
Trump claimed drug trafficking “has become the biggest business in Colombia” and said Petro “does nothing to stop it” despite years of US funding. “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS... WILL NO LONGER BE MADE,” the US president wrote Sunday on social media.
The announcement follows Trump’s September decision to “decertify” Colombia as a partner in fighting narcotics, relegating the longtime US ally to the same category as Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The move comes amid the largest cocaine boom in history, with most of the supply originating in Colombia.
Petro hit back, saying on X that “Trump is being deceived” by advisers, and adding that he has done more than any other leader to expose links between drug traffickers and Colombia’s political elite.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Sunday that he would impose tariffs on Colombia as punishment for its drug trade and would announce the rate on Monday, calling the country “a drug manufacturing machine.”
Colombia has received about $14 billion in US aid this century, including roughly $500 million since 2017 for military modernization, demining, and counternarcotics operations. Petro, who took office in 2022, has sought “total peace” through negotiations with guerrillas and crime groups rather than force — a strategy that has yet to curb violence or cocaine output.
Unable to seek reelection when his term ends next August, Petro has tried to rally the left to preserve his agenda, portraying Trump as a foil and himself as a global leader of progressive causes.
Visa Spat
Relations deteriorated further in September when, during a pro-Palestinian protest at the UN, Petro called on American soldiers to disobey Trump, which led to the US canceling his visa. Petro shrugged off the move, but later threatened to renegotiate Colombia’s trade pact with the US, while top ministers said they’d give up their own visas.
Over the weekend, Trump announced that two survivors of a US attack on a submarine he claimed was carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean will be returned to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador. Petro responded in a post on X that US government officials committed a “murder” in the vessel attacks.
In his post on Sunday, Trump said Petro has “a fresh mouth toward America.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced Sunday a separate US strike conducted Friday against a boat he said was affiliated with a Colombian guerrilla faction that was smuggling narcotics. He posted a video of the attack on X.
The standoff between Trump and Petro marks a sharp contrast to the more measured approaches of Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum.
An escalation of the conflict could derail a rally in Colombian assets that’s gathered steam in recent months. Investors have been betting the country will pivot to a more market-friendly government after next year’s presidential election. Dollar bonds have returned almost 10% in the past three months, one of the best performances in Latin America, according to a Bloomberg index.
Colombia now produces more than six times as much cocaine as it did when Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, more than Peru and Bolivia combined.
“Cutting aid will only empower criminal groups, this time with nothing to counter their strength, and it seems that Trump’s decision is irreversible,” said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis.
Read Also: Asian shares rise as US-China trade tensions cool
Do you find this article useful?
