Petro challenges Trump’s allegations on Colombia’s drug policies
Trump had earlier threatened that Petro “will be next” amid rising tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The former US president, who has repeatedly criticized Petro and called him an “illegal drug dealer,” escalated his rhetoric, claiming Colombia operates “cocaine factories” exporting drugs directly to the US and warning that Petro “is going to have himself some big problems if he doesn’t wise up.”
Responding via a statement on the US social media company X, Petro called Trump “a man very misinformed about Colombia” and said his comments demonstrated “disrespect toward a democratically elected president” and the nation he leads.
“It’s a shame, because he dismisses the country that knows the most about cocaine trafficking,” Petro wrote. “It seems his advisers deceive him completely.”
Petro also addressed political disagreements with Washington over Venezuela, emphasizing that the nation’s central issue is “a lack of democracy, not narcotics.” He noted that he had collaborated with President Joe Biden for two years on a peaceful roadmap for Venezuela, including a transitional government and subsequent free elections. Petro warned that any US-led invasion of Venezuela “would burn all of South America, including Colombia,” and jeopardize democratic cooperation across the region.
Since early September, US forces have increased strikes on suspected trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, carrying out 22 attacks and killing at least 87 people. Trump also highlighted the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker as part of the campaign.
Petro dismissed Trump’s claim that missile strikes on small boats effectively target drug trafficking, noting that these vessels are operated by “poor people,” while major traffickers reside abroad “on yachts near Dubai or in Madrid.”
The Colombian president detailed that his administration has conducted over 1,446 ground combat operations against criminal networks and 13 targeted bombings of mafia leaders, many coordinated with US intelligence. He added that cocaine shipments have shifted from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean and Amazon Basin, highlighting the importance of coordinated port control and maritime monitoring with US support, including accelerated production of surveillance vessels in Colombian shipyards.
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