‘Stop slandering me’: Colombian President Petro slams Trump’s threats, warns against bombing his country

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Sunday (Jan 5) rejected the threats made by US President Donald Trump, who accused him of being a drug trafficker. This comes after Trump slammed Petro and suggested that he could be a target in a US operation. Petro also slammed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has echoed Trump’s remarks.

“The judicial power in Colombia doesn’t belong to me; it’s independent of me, and my opposition largely handles it. If one wants to know about the mafia and the business of cocaine commercialisation, just look at Colombia’s judicial files,” Petro wrote on X.

“That’s why I deeply reject Trump speaking without knowing; my name doesn’t appear in the judicial files on drug trafficking over 50 years, neither from before nor from the present,” he added. “Stop slandering me, Mr. Trump. 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.”

“Don’t think Latin America is just a nest of criminals poisoning your people—respect us and read our history, which dates back 30,000 years across all of America. I read your history to understand you. Don’t see drug traffickers where there are only genuine warriors for Democracy and Freedom,” he said.

In another post, Petro warned the US against bombing, saying, “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.”

What did Trump say?

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump suggested that a US operation could target Colombian President Gustavo Petro. He said, “Colombia’s very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.” Referring to Petro, Trump said, “And he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

When asked whether that meant a US operation targeting the Colombian leader, Trump replied, “Sounds good to me.”

Trump also threatened Mexico, saying that Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, was scared. He also claimed that Cuba was “ready to fall”, adding that “a lot of Cubans were killed” during the US operation to seize the Venezuelan leader.

American forces on Saturday (Jan 3) seized the Venezuelan leader in what it described as its war against drug cartels and drug lords. In an operation titled Operation Absolute Resolve, the American forces entered Venezuela, bombed Caracas and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their presidential palace.