Trump Warns Colombia’s Petro Amid Dispute Over Drug Trafficking
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President Donald Trump said Colombia’s president could be targeted in the same way as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, amid a growing dispute between the two leaders over illegal drug exports to the United States and its military presence in the region.
Trump was speaking to reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has been a vocal critic of U.S. military strikes on ships suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean.
Trump was asked if he had spoken to Petro, whom he described as an “illegal drug dealer,” as he had previously done with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
TRUMP SAID WE WILL START STOPPING VENEZUELAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS ON THE LAND: ‘WE WILL START VERY SOON’
Colombian President Gustavo Petro (left) and President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Trump said the Petro would be “next in line” amid rising tensions over U.S. military strikes and drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images; Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“He’s been pretty hostile towards the United States,” Trump said. “I didn’t think much of it.”
“If he doesn’t come to his senses, he will face big problems,” he added. “He better be smart, or he’ll be next. I hope he’s listening. He’ll be next.”
Trump stated that Colombia is a “major” drug producer and helps import drugs into the United States.
TRUMP DOUBLED THE COLLISION IN COLOMBIA, CALLED PETRO ‘CRAZY’
US strikes on drug ships near Venezuelan waters could be aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. (@realDonald Trump/Truth Social; Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
Petro harshly criticized Trump amid attacks in the Caribbean. In November, he called Trump a “barbarian” days after he ordered his country’s security forces to stop sharing intelligence with the United States until Washington halted its military operations in the region.
On Sunday, Petro said most of the people killed during the US strikes were “poor fishermen, some of them making short cocaine trips for narcotics out of necessity.”
He also criticized Trump for pardoning former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison last year for helping transport tons of cocaine into the United States.
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“The USA is misleading its allies. Its allies cannot be narcotics,” Petro wrote.
