Colombia’s Petro pushes back after Trump warns he 'will be next'

ISTANBUL

Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued a sweeping rebuttal to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, accusing him of relying on “complete misinformation” about Colombia’s fight against drug trafficking.

Trump earlier threatened that Petro “will be next” as tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro continued to escalate.

Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Petro and labeled him an “illegal drug dealer,” escalated his rhetoric Wednesday, warning that the Colombian leader “is going to have himself some big problems if he doesn’t wise up” and accusing Colombia of operating “cocaine factories” that ship drugs directly to the US.

Petro responded in a lengthy statement on the US social media company X’s platform, calling Trump “a man very misinformed about Colombia” and saying the comments show “disrespect toward a democratically elected president” and the country he governs.

“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.”

The president also addressed his political differences with Washington over Venezuela, insisting the country’s key issue is a “lack of democracy, not narcotics.” Petro said he worked with President Joe Biden for two years on a peaceful roadmap for Venezuela that included a transitional government and later free elections.

He warned that any US-led invasion of Venezuela “would burn all of South America, including Colombia,” and undermine democratic cooperation across the region.

US forces have expanded strikes on suspected trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since early September, carrying out 22 known attacks and killing at least 87 people. Trump also confirmed the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast as part of the widening campaign.

Petro rejected Trump’s assertion that missile strikes on small boats constitute an effective drug war, noting that boat operators are “poor people” and that major traffickers live abroad “on yachts near Dubai or in Madrid.”

The Colombian leader said his administration has carried out more than 1,446 ground combat operations against criminal organizations and 13 bombings targeting mafia leaders, many in coordination with US intelligence.

Petro said the Caribbean is no longer the primary route for cocaine shipments, which now move mostly through the Pacific Ocean and Amazon Basin. He emphasized the need for coordinated port control and maritime monitoring with US assistance, including faster production of surveillance vessels in Colombian shipyards.