Trump accuses the Colombian president of being a "drug trafficking kingpin"
The US president announces that he is halting financial aid to the South American country.
BarcelonaUS President Donald Trump announced this Sunday that he will freeze financial aid to Colombia due to its alleged inaction in the fight against drug trafficking, and accused his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, of being "a drug trafficking leader." He warned that if he does not close "these extermination camps immediately," the United States will shut them down.
Colombia's reaction was swift. The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the US president's statements are "a direct threat to national sovereignty because they pose an illegal intervention in Colombian territory," and announced that it will appeal to international bodies.
Separately, the United States reported this Sunday that on Friday they fired on another vessel in the Caribbean Sea and killed three alleged drug traffickers, whom they have linked to the Colombian guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN). It is the seventh attack in the Caribbean Sea since the White House declared "an armed conflict" against drug traffickers.
The statements
"Colombian President Gustavo Petro is a drug trafficking leader who fuels massive drug production, both in large and small fields, throughout Colombia. It has become by far Colombia's biggest business, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite payments and subsidies on a scale from the United States," Social added. "Starting today, these payments, or any other form of payment or subsidy, will stop being sent to Colombia. The purpose of this drug production is massive sale in the United States, where they cause death, destruction, and havoc."
On September 15, the United States removed Colombia from its list of countries fighting drug trafficking for having "manifestly failed" over the past year to comply with its obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements. Now, Trump's statements mark another step in that diplomatic offensive.
Relations between the two countries have also become strained by Petro's criticism of the missile attacks on boats allegedly leaving Venezuela loaded with drugs. In fact, this Saturday the Colombian president asked the Attorney General's Office to act if it is confirmed that one of the vessels attacked by the United States in the Caribbean Sea on September 16 was Colombian, and called the United States a "murderous" country for having killed a fisherman who was doing his job.
It is evident that Petro's harsh statements did not please Trump, who this Sunday retaliated. "I recommend that Trump read Colombia carefully and determine which side is the drug traffickers and which, the Democrats," Petro initially responded in a message on the X network. Later, however, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the tone and announced that it will resort to international bodies to defend sovereignty.
