Trump Announces Aid Cuts to Colombia Amidst Escalating Feud with President Petro
A dramatic escalation in tensions between teh United States and Colombia unfolded Sunday as President Donald Trump announced an immediate halt to U.S. aid to the South American nation, citing Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s alleged inaction against drug production. The move follows a series of increasingly hostile exchanges between the two leaders, raising concerns about the stability of a key U.S. partnership in Latin America.
Trump took to social media to accuse Petro of being “an illegal drug dealer” and warned him to “close up” drug operations, threatening unilateral U.S. intervention if Colombia fails to comply. “Or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely,” trump wrote.
Hours later,Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a recent U.S. strike targeting a vessel suspected of carrying “considerable amounts of narcotics.” According to Hegseth, the vessel was linked to the National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian rebel group currently engaged in conflict with Petro’s government. He shared a brief video clip depicting a boat ablaze following an explosion on Friday, but offered no further evidence to support his claims. The State Department designated the ELN as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
Petro swiftly rejected Trump’s accusations, defending his administration’s efforts to combat narcotics in Colombia, the world’s leading exporter of cocaine. “Trying to promote peace in Colombia is not being a drug trafficker,” Petro stated,asserting that Trump is being misinformed by his advisors. He characterized himself as “the main enemy” of drugs within his country and labeled Trump’s rhetoric as “rude and ignorant toward Colombia.”
In Colombia, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez emphasized his country’s commitment to fighting drug trafficking, noting that Colombia “has used all its capability and also lost men and women” in the effort.
Trump’s aggressive stance toward Petro raises the specter of a widening conflict in Latin America, a region where the U.S. has already been increasing pressure on Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro. American naval forces, fighter jets, and drones are currently deployed in the region as part of what the administration
Authorities resolute he had not committed any crimes within their borders and will not face charges.
The ELN, targeted in Friday’s strike according to Hegseth, has consistently denied involvement in drug trafficking and has offered to submit to scrutiny by an international commission.Colombian authorities regularly report the dismantling of cocaine laboratories and the seizure of drugs believed to be linked to the guerrillas.
Since early September, the U.S. has conducted seven strikes in the region targeting alleged drug traffickers, resulting in at least 32 fatalities.
Trump reiterated his criticism of Petro on Sunday, accusing him of having “a fresh mouth toward America” and complaining that drug smuggling persists 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,” he declared.
Elizabeth Dickinson,a senior analyst for the Andes region at International Crisis Group,described the U.S. decision as “befuddling and profoundly unwise,” arguing that alienating its strongest military partner in Latin America is particularly ill-timed given heightened tensions with Venezuela. She emphasized that the long-standing foundational relationship between Washington and Bogotá is being jeopardized, with possibly “catastrophic effects.”
Colombia previously experienced significant cuts to U.S. funding when Trump reduced the budget for the U.S. Agency for International Development earlier this year. Further reductions could impact military cooperation and hinder efforts to combat rebel groups. “If that is cut, we will see a strategic loss of capability for the Colombian military and police at precisely the moment when they’re confronting the greatest security crisis in Colombia for over a decade,” Dickinson warned.
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press writer Astrid Suárez in Bogotá, Colombia, contributed to this report.
