Colombia recalls US ambassador amid spat with Trump over strikes on alleged drug boats | Colombia
Colombia has recalled its ambassador to Washington amid a bitter war of words between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump over deadly US attacks on boats in the Caribbean.
The fight took a sharp turn this weekend when Petro accused the United States of “killing” a Colombian fisherman in an attack on a ship in its territorial waters. Petro and his management said the strike in mid-September was “Direct threat to national sovereignty” and this victim “a lifelong fisherman” and a “humble person”.
In response, Trump, who claimed such attacks were designed to stop drug trafficking into the United States, called Petro an “illegal drug dealer” and vowed to end aid payments to Colombia, one of the largest recipients of U.S. counternarcotics aid. He also ordered Petro to “shut down” his drug production sites, saying that otherwise “the United States will shut them down for him, and it won’t be done well.” Speaking on Air Force One, Trump added that he would announce new tariffs on Colombian goods.
In response, Colombia recalled its US ambassador for talks in Bogotá on Monday, while interior minister Armando Benedetti said the remarks amounted to “a threat of invasion or military action against Colombia”. Petro, part of Colombia’s fifty-year conflict Caused by “cocaine consumption in the United States” and claimed that American contributions had been “insufficient and invalid in recent years.”
Analysts have warned that the feud marks one of the most serious deteriorations in relations between the long-time allies and casts doubt on the future of security and counter-narcotics cooperation between the two countries. The debate comes at a critical time for Colombia, which is facing its worst security crisis in a decade.
However, Colombia did not back down and the foreign ministry said that Trump’s statements “contain a direct threat to national sovereignty by proposing illegal intervention in Colombian territory.”
Relations soured at the beginning of Trump’s second term. Days after Trump’s inauguration Colombia initially refused Accepting military flights carrying deportees prompted the US president to threaten tariffs and sanctions. Months later, Washington revoked Petro’s visa after he called on US soldiers to disobey Trump at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York, telling them: “Do not obey Trump’s orders. Follow the orders of humanity.”
In September, the United States declared that Colombia had “failed” to meet its international drug control obligations and revoked its certification for the first time in almost 30 years.
Colombia is the world’s leading cocaine producer, and cultivation of the coca bush, cocaine’s primary crop, has reached a record high. Last year was an all-time high.According to the UN. Bogotá argues that its militarized “war on drugs” has failed and says its policies have led to record levels of seizures.
Despite the warning to cancel the certificate, the White House announced in September that it would continue financing and security assistance to Colombia, describing the partnership as “vital to the national interests of the United States.” That appears to have changed this weekend, with Washington threatening to cut aid.
It was not immediately clear what the cuts might include, as the U.S. administration had reduced funding somewhat earlier this year.
Colombia was expected to receive more than $400 million in aid at the beginning of the year, but earlier cuts left it behind by about $400 million, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (Wola), a research organization. a quarter of that. US figures It is claimed that Colombia received an estimated $230 million in the US budget year ending September 30; This amount was over 700 million dollars in recent years.
Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst for the Andes region at the International Crisis Group, said the impact of further aid cuts would be “huge” and not just financial.
“This is an institutional relationship in which security forces operate together, in a coordinated manner, every day, constantly sharing information and conducting operations for the benefit of both countries,” he said.
Dickinson warned that the break comes at a dangerous time, with Colombia facing “probably the worst security crisis in the last decade” amid a growing threat from armed and criminal groups.
Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, Wola’s Andes director, said tensions had entered “danger territory” and warned: “Since Colombia is the United States’ most important ally in the fight against narcotics, aggressively attacking this ally and cutting off further funding would be counterproductive.”
Colombia’s first leftist president, Petro, has been criticizing US attacks on boats in the Caribbean for weeks, which legal experts say are unlawful.
Navy ships, warplanes and unmanned aerial vehicles were deployed for what the US described as an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. The USA has carried out seven attacks in the region since the beginning of September and at least 32 people have lost their lives.
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth claimed last week’s attack targeted a boat affiliated with the Colombian rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN), but offered no evidence. Oil condemned the bombingHe said the boat belonged to a “modest family”.
For the first time, survivors were reported from another attack last week; Two men, one Colombian and one Ecuadorian, were repatriated on Saturday. Trump said US intelligence confirmed the ship was “mostly filled with fentanyl and other illegal drugs.” Analysts noted that Colombia produces cocaine, but fentanyl trafficking is largely concentrated in Mexico.
sunday evening, Peter wrote He argued that the US’s “war on drugs” was merely a “policy to control” Latin America and its resources, and that the aim of the attacks on Venezuela was to “secure its oil cheaply”.
“Colombia actually provides the money and the deaths in the struggle, while the US provides the consumption,” he added on Monday, blaming US and European consumption for 300,000 murders in Colombia and 1 million deaths in Latin America.
He then texted a video This document, which purported to show that the Colombian army had seized nearly half a ton of cocaine at sea north of La Guajira, pointedly added: “Zero deaths in the operation.”
