Colombian President Petro Responds to Trump’s Suggestion of Military Action Against Colombia

Colombian President Threatens to “Take Up Arms” Against U.S. Following Trump’s Accusations

Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared Monday he would “take up arms” against the United States if it launches military operations against his country, escalating tensions between the two nations amid the recent U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Petro, who was previously a member of the leftist M-19 guerrilla movement that laid down arms in the early 1990s, made the provocative statement in a post on social media platform X after President Trump suggested Colombia could be the next target in his administration’s expanded war on drugs.

“Although I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity,” Petro wrote. “I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland I will take up arms again that I do not want.”

The Colombian leader firmly rejected Trump’s accusations of involvement in drug trafficking, stating: “I am not illegitimate, nor am I a narco. I only have as assets my family home that I still pay for with my salary. My bank statements have been published. No one could say that I have spent more than my salary. I am not greedy.”

The heated exchange follows remarks Trump made to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, where he characterized Colombia as “very sick” and described Petro as a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.” Trump claimed Petro operates “cocaine mills and cocaine factories” and, when asked directly about potential U.S. military action in Colombia, responded, “It sounds good to me.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted Petro. In December, the U.S. president warned that the Colombian leader “better wise up” or risk becoming a target. Trump has repeatedly labeled Petro an “illegal drug dealer” and a “lunatic.”

The escalating rhetoric comes at a particularly sensitive time for U.S.-Latin American relations following the dramatic capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro. The operation has already created significant diplomatic tensions across the region and drawn criticism from various international actors, including Russia and China.

Colombia, which shares a 1,400-mile border with Venezuela, has historically been one of Washington’s closest allies in the region. However, relations have deteriorated significantly under Petro’s administration, which has taken a more independent foreign policy approach and has been critical of U.S. counter-narcotics strategies.

Petro has been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics in Latin America. He previously condemned U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, claiming that many of those killed were “poor fishermen” forced into the drug trade out of economic necessity. Last November, Petro called Trump a “barbarian” and temporarily suspended intelligence sharing with Washington.

Colombia remains one of the world’s largest cocaine producers despite decades of U.S.-backed eradication efforts. The country’s narcotics trade is largely controlled by various armed groups, including the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who rejected a 2016 peace agreement.

Petro warned that U.S. bombing campaigns would only radicalize rural communities, claiming that peasant farmers would become “thousands of guerrillas in the mountains” in response to military intervention.

The diplomatic rift deepened when the Trump administration revoked Petro’s U.S. visa over what it described as “reckless and incendiary actions” after he allegedly urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders while speaking in New York City.

The escalating tensions between the two nations threaten to further destabilize an already volatile region and complicate international efforts to address drug trafficking, migration, and political instability throughout Latin America.