Colombian president rejects Trump threats, says ‘stop slandering me’

BOGOTA - Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Jan 4 rejected threats by his US counterpart Donald Trump, who also accused him of being a drug trafficker.

US forces attacked Caracas

in the early hours of Jan 3, bombing military targets during a shock snatch-and-grab raid to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power and assert Washington’s control over the oil-rich South American nation.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Jan 4, Mr Trump made

similar threats of military action against Colombia

, saying the South American country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

“He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long,” Mr Trump added.

When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, the Republican leader said: “It sounds good to me.”

“You know why because they kill a lot of people,” Mr Trump claimed without evidence.

Mr Petro rebuffed the accusations, saying his “name does not appear in court records.”

“Stop slandering me, Mr Trump,” Mr Petro said on the social media platform X.

“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.”

Mr Petro has harshly criticised the Trump administration’s military action in the region and accused Washington of abducting Mr Maduro “without legal basis.”

In a later post to X on Jan 4, Mr Petro added “friends do not bomb”.

Colombia’s foreign ministry called the US president’s threats “unacceptable interference” and demanded “respect”.

Colombia and the United States are key military and economic allies in the region, but their relations have been strained.

Since the start of Mr Trump’s second term, the two leaders have regularly clashed over issues such as tariffs and migration policy. AFP