By RismadarVoice Reporters
January 5, 2026
Colombia’s President, Gustavo Petro on Sunday rejected threats made by his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, who accused him of being involved in drug trafficking.
The comments came in the wake of a U.S. military operation in Caracas early Saturday, during which American forces reportedly bombed military targets in a shock raid aimed at removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump accused Colombia of being “very sick” and described its government as “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
“He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories, he is not going to be doing it for too long,” Trump said.
When asked whether a military intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump responded:
“It sounds good to me. You know why? Because they kill a lot of people,” adding the remark without providing evidence.
Petro responded swiftly, denying the allegations and calling Trump’s comments “slanderous.”
“Stop slandering me, Mr Trump. That’s not how you threaten a Latin American President who emerged from the armed struggle and then from the people of Colombia’s fight for peace,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Petro has also strongly criticized the U.S. military action in Venezuela, describing the abduction of Maduro as “without legal basis.” In a subsequent post, he added:
“Friends do not bomb.”
Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Trump’s remarks as “unacceptable interference” and called for “respect” in bilateral relations.
Relations between Colombia and the United States, traditionally close in military and economic matters, have been strained since the start of Trump’s second term, with tensions over tariffs, migration policies, and now regional security interventions.
