Colombia slams Trump’s incendiary drug claims, defends sovereignty
6 Min Read
Colombia dismisses Trump’s drug trafficking allegations against President Petro, calling the remarks a serious breach of diplomatic norms.
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Supporters of President Gustavo Petro attend a rally, ahead of Petro's first appearance since the United States revoked his visa in Ibague, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 (AP)
Colombian officials sharply rebuked US President Donald Trump on Sunday after he labeled President Gustavo Petro “an illegal drug leader” in a Truth Social post and announced the suspension of all US aid to Colombia, a move that threatens to inflame tensions between the two governments.
In a statement obtained by Newsweek, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “As the Government of Colombia, we strongly reject these pronouncements and will go to all international bodies in defense of our sovereignty as a State and the dignity of our president, who has always been characterized by his respect for democratic authorities and his frontal fight against drug trafficking.”
The Ministry also condemned the use of cooperation as leverage, adding, “Likewise, we reject the use of international cooperation as an instrument of interference in Colombia's internal affairs. Without cooperation, transnational organizations dedicated to the production and marketing of narcotics will win and the entire region will lose.”
Growing diplomatic rift
The exchange follows several days of escalating rhetoric between the two leaders as the United States expanded its military operations targeting vessels allegedly tied to "drug smuggling" or "terrorism". Colombia has objected to how Washington has framed those strikes, warning of violations of sovereignty.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on X that the latest operation destroyed a vessel associated with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), a group the US designated as a "terrorist organization" in 1997. Hegseth described the ELN as “the Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere” and said the strike took place in international waters.
According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the ELN remains “the oldest and one of the most powerful groups in Colombia,” seeking to dominate areas linked to narcotics production and often clashing with Colombian forces.
Petro, however, accused Washington of “murder” after a similar US strike last month, assuring it killed a local fisherman named Alejandro Carranza and infringed on Colombia’s sovereignty.
Trump doubles down
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump intensified his criticism of Petro, accusing him of failing to confront the ELN and of profiting from Colombia’s drug trade.
“President Gustavo Petro, of Colombia, is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia,” Trump wrote. “It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America.”
He went on to declare: “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.”
Trump accused Petro of enabling drug exports that “cause death, destruction, and havoc” in the United States, warning that Petro “better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”
Bogotá condemns Trump’s remarks
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry called the accusations “an act of the greatest seriousness,” saying they “go against the dignity of the President of the Colombians, who has led and fought tirelessly [against] drug trafficking in our country.”
The statement continued, “The communication referred to contains a direct threat to national sovereignty by raising an illegal intervention in Colombian territory, a country that has historically been a valuable ally in the fight against drugs in the region and in the world.”
It also stated that Trump’s language “transgress[es] all the rules of international law and diplomacy,” violating treaties that uphold nations’ independence and self-determination.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia rejects the offensive and disobligent statements against the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro Urrego, and the direct threat against national sovereignty made by the President of the United States Donald Trump, issued by the White House, in which he accuses the Colombian President without any foundation,” it added.
Petro pushes back
Responding on X, Petro reiterated his earlier remark that the US strike had hit a fisherman’s boat from Santa Marta, saying it “belonged to a humble family, lovers of the sea, from which they drew their food.”
On Saturday, Petro devoted much of his social media activity to amplifying the “No Kings” protests across the United States, where hundreds of thousands demonstrated against Trump’s leadership.
In a pointed message directed at the US president, Petro wrote on X: “Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the USA; on the contrary, it has greatly admired its culture. But you are rude and ignorant toward Colombia. Read, as your chargé d'affaires in Colombia did, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and he assured you that you will learn something about solitude.”
He continued:
“I don't do business, like you do; I am a socialist, I believe in aid and the common good and in the common goods of humanity, the greatest of all: life, put in danger by your oil. If I am not a merchant, then much less a drug trafficker; in my heart there is no greed. I could never get along with greed. A mafioso is a human being who embodies the best of capitalism: greed, and I am the opposite, a lover of life and therefore a millennial warrior for life. Greed flees from us, because life is more powerful,” he added.
In a follow-up post, Petro stressed that he respects “the history, culture and people of the USA,” emphasizing that “the problem is with Trump, not the USA.”
Trump defends the US strike
Trump reaffirmed his decision to target a suspected drug-smuggling submarine in a separate Truth Social post: “It was my great honor to destroy a vast DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking transit route. US Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics.”
He alleged that the strike killed two of four “narcoterrorists” on board, while two others, from Ecuador and Colombia, were captured and will face prosecution in their home countries.
“At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore,” Trump wrote. “Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”
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