Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded to US President Donald Trump on Monday, defending his government’s anti-narcotics operations, including major cocaine seizures and coca crop reduction.
Petro’s response comes after US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned him following a US military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
In a lengthy post on X, Petro said he would first review Trump’s remarks in ”English translate” before responding. “Today, I will check if Trump’s words in English translate as the national press says. Therefore, later I will respond to them once I know what Trump’s illegitimate threat really means,” he said.
Petro also criticised US Senator Marco Rubio, accusing him of misrepresenting Colombia’s constitutional framework. He said the president of Colombia is, by law, the supreme commander of the military and police, and dismissed claims suggesting otherwise as false and politically motivated.
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The Colombian leader said he had ordered the removal of several police intelligence officers for allegedly providing false information against the state. He said, ”Don’t let Rubio be believing those fallacies”
Defending his record, Petro said his government had overseen what he described as the world’s largest cocaine seizure, curbed the expansion of coca cultivation, and launched a voluntary crop substitution programme covering around 30,000 hectares. He added that security operations had targeted major drug trafficking hubs and armed groups, while adhering to humanitarian law.
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Petro said,”If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children. If you bomb peasants, thousands of guerrillas will return in the mountains. And if you arrest the president whom a good part of my people want and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar.”
The president further reaffirmed his loyalty to Colombia’s constitution and sovereignty, instructing security forces to prioritise the national flag over foreign influence. He called on the military and police to defend popular sovereignty and said he trusted the Colombian people to protect democratic institutions.
Petro concluded by rejecting allegations linking him to drug trafficking, saying his finances were transparent and limited to his official salary. He described himself as a “commander of the people”.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to “watch his ass” following a US military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, escalating tensions across the region.
“He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass,” Trump said at a press conference, referring to Petro, with whom he has sparred repeatedly in recent months.
Trump’s remarks came hours after the United States carried out a dramatic overnight operation in Venezuela, seizing Maduro and flying him out of the country.
The United States attacked Venezuela and captured its long-serving President Nicolas Maduro early Saturday, with Trump announcing that Washington would temporarily take control of the country.