Bogota – Colombian President Gustavo Petro has issued a stark warning to former U.S. President Donald Trump, cautioning against any infringement upon Colombian sovereignty. The admonition comes amidst escalating verbal sparring between the two nations.
Trump, during a government meeting in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, alluded to potential military action against Colombia under the guise of combating drug cartels. He stated, “I hear Colombia is producing cocaine. They have facilities to manufacture it, right? Then they send us their cocaine… Anyone who does that and exports it to our country will become a target of our strikes… and not just Venezuela.”
Petro swiftly responded to Trump’s remarks, inviting him to visit Colombia and witness firsthand the “dismantling of nine drug labs daily to stop the flow of cocaine to American soil.”
In a post on social media platform X, Petro emphasized that since assuming office in 2022, his administration has eradicated 18,400 drug labs “without using missiles.” He added, in firm language, “Come with me, and I will show you how we dismantle them, a lab every forty minutes, but do not touch our sovereignty, or you will awaken the sleeping tiger. An attack on our sovereignty is tantamount to a declaration of war. Do not ruin two hundred years of diplomatic relations.”
The Colombian President further stated, “You have already damaged my reputation. Stop going in this direction. If there is one country that has contributed to blocking thousands of tons of cocaine from reaching users in North America, it is Colombia.”
Relations between the two countries have reportedly deteriorated recently, with the U.S. administration accusing Petro of laxity in combating drug cartels and imposing sanctions against him as a result. This latest exchange further strains the already tense diplomatic ties.
