WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to take “very serious action” against Colombia, which he accused of manufacturing illegal drugs that are brought into the US.

“He better watch it, or we'll take very serious action against him and his country,” he said in a news conference at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

He was referring to Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, who has been a vocal critic of Trump on several issues, including US strikes on vessels that it claims were carrying drugs through international waters.

Petro said that one of the latest strikes targeted a fishing boat, killing a Colombian national with no links to drug trafficking and violating the country's sovereignty.

Underlining that the US had “stopped all payments going to Colombia,” Trump called Petro a “thug and bad guy” and accused the South American country of producing illegal drugs that are “coming into the United States…generally through Mexico.”

“What he has led his country into is a death trap,” he added.

Following Trump's remarks, Petro said he would defend himself “in the US justice system with American lawyers” against slander.

"I will always stand against genocides and the murders committed by those in power in the Caribbean," he said in a post on the US social media company X’s platform.

He reaffirmed Colombia’s commitment to cooperate with any state that requests its help to fight drug trafficking, including "the American people."

Trump’s remarks came days after Petro said in an interview that the US president lacks “wisdom and pragmatism” to resolve escalating tensions between the two countries.

Colombia on Monday recalled its ambassador to the US amid the rising tensions after Trump accused Petro of being “a drug leader” and announced the suspension of all economic aid to the country.

Petro responded Sunday that Trump is being “misled” by his advisors. The Colombian leader said he was the one who uncovered alleged links between drug trafficking and political power in Colombia.

Previous escalations include a US decision to remove Colombia from the list of countries fighting drugs and the revocation of Petro’s visa last month following statements he made to the UN General Assembly in New York.