‘Real threat’ of US military action against Colombia, says President Gustavo Petro

The US president also “warned” Colombian President Gustavo Petro to “watch his a**”. “He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his a**,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments came days after he launched military strikes at Venezuela and sezied its President Nicolás Maduro.

Petro told the BBC that the United States is treating other nations as part of a US “empire” and that the US risks transforming from “dominating the world” to becoming “isolated from the world.”

As per the news agency, Petro also spoke against Trump’s strict immigration crackdown, accusing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of acting like “Nazi brigades”.

The two leaders also engaged on a call, where Trump and Petro said they discussed relations between the two countries.

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“We have spoken by phone for the first time since he became president,” Petro told supporters gathered at a rally in Bogota meant to celebrate Colombia’s sovereignty, adding he had requested a restart of dialogue between the two countries.

Trump said a military operation targeting Colombia “sounds good”. (Photo: AP/File)

Trump also took to Truth Social after the call.

“It was a great honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, ​who called to explain the situation of drugs and ‌other disagreements that we have had. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”

Trump added “arrangements are being made” for a meeting in Washington between himself and Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, but gave no specific date for a meeting.

However, BBC reports that Petro’s tone suggested that relations remained rather sour after the call. He told the BBC the call lasted just under an hour, “most of it occupied by me,” and covered “drug trafficking Colombia” and Colombia’s view on Venezuela and “what is happening around Latin America regarding the United States,” reported BBC.

Trump said arrangements are being made ‍for ⁠him to meet with Colombia’s President ​Gustavo Petro ‌at the White House ​in Washington after the two spoke on ‌Wednesday.

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