President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday, accusing him of running cocaine production operations that send drugs into the United States. The remarks followed Petro’s recent assertion that parts of southwestern U.S., including Texas and California, were “invaded” territories.
Speaking with reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after announcing plans for a new line of battleships, Trump stated: “He has to watch [it] because he has drug factories. They make cocaine in Colombia… He’s no friend of the United States. He’s a very bad guy… He better close up those cocaine factories. They have at least three major cocaine factories.”
Trump also criticized Petro’s leadership, saying: “We love the Colombian people… But their new leader is a troublemaker and he better watch it.”
The tensions between the leaders have been escalating amid heightened U.S. pressure on Venezuela, which includes a naval blockade in the Caribbean Sea and the seizure of sanctioned oil tankers. Trump has previously linked regional instability to drug trafficking.
Petro’s response came after Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets seized from U.S. oil companies years ago. Petro stated: “Texas is a territory that was invaded… It wasn’t sold. So was California and all of southern U.S.” He added that while Latin American leaders cannot claim stolen territories, Trump could demand the return of Venezuelan oil assets.
The Trump administration sanctioned Petro and several family members in October over drug production concerns, but Petro has rejected these accusations, claiming that U.S. pressure on Venezuela stems from oil policy rather than democracy or drug enforcement.
