US Senator Lindsey Graham said he had “a very good conversation” with President Donald Trump, who said he plans to impose tariffs on Colombia in retaliation for its alleged support for drug trafficking. Graham stated that Trump “is going to attack Colombia where it hurts most: the pocket” and that the official announcement would be made “today or tomorrow.”
The legislator added that Trump “is the toughest president in history” and warned that “those who continue to be involved in narcoterrorism against the United States will pay a very high price.”
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, accused his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, whom he described as “a drug trafficking leader who encourages the mass production of drugs” in the country.
In a message published on his social networks, Trump stated that the production of narcotics “has become, by far, the largest business in Colombia.” and noted that the president “does nothing to stop it, despite large-scale payments and subsidies from the US.”
Trump assured that the purpose of this production is the “massive sale of products to the United States, causing death, destruction and havoc.” Furthermore, he warned Petro that “he should close these death camps immediately, or the United States will close them to him.”
The message ends with a direct warning: “Petro, a little recognized and very unpopular leader, with a fresh attitude towards the United States, “You should close these death camps immediately, or the United States will close them to you, and you will not be welcomed.”
Moments later President Petro responded through his X account: “The main enemy that drug trafficking had in Colombia was in the 21st century, which revealed its relations with the political power of Colombia. That was me. “I recommend that Trump read Colombia well and determine where the drug traffickers are and where the Democrats are.”
The Colombian president also asked his American counterpart “read Colombia well and determine where the drug traffickers are and where the democrats are,” in reference to his insistence on separating his country’s politics from interests linked to drug trafficking.
Hours later, President Petro spoke out again and responded to the US president’s accusations. “Colombia has never been rude to the United States,” he stated, and noted that, on the contrary, the country “has loved its culture very much.”
However, He described Trump as “rude and ignorant towards Colombia” and invited him to read One Hundred Years of Solitude so that “he learns something from loneliness.” Petro added that he does not do “business like you,” because he defines himself as a socialist and defender “of aid, the common good and of life,” which, he said, is “put in danger by its oil.” He concluded by assuring that he is not a “dealer or drug trafficker,” but rather “a millennia-old lover and warrior of life.”
Petro’s statements come a few minutes after Trump announced the end of all subsidies and economic aid to Colombia, alleging that the Colombian government “does nothing to stop the expansion of the drug business,” and that the United States “will not continue to finance a long-term scam.”
