President Trump is cutting off all U.S. subsidies to Colombia, accusing the leftist president of the world's largest cocaine producer of failing to stop the manufacture and flow of illegal drugs.
"President Gustavo Petro, of Colombia, is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia,” Trump wrote.
This is not the first time Trump and President Gustavo Petro have clashed. While visiting New York in September for the United Nations General Assembly, Petro denounced Trump and encouraged U.S. soldiers to disobey the commander-in-chief.
The State Department swiftly responded by revoking Petro's visa.
Now, Trumps says he will cut off all U.S. support for Petro's country if he does not do more to target illegal drugs.
“It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America,” he added.
“AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA,” Trump declared. “The purpose of this drug production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc.”
Trump capped his message to President Petro with a threat.
"Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely."
In addition to ending subsidies to Colombia, Trump has pledged to bring new tariffs against the U.S. ally, which was one of the top recipients of foreign aid before USAID was largely shuttered by Trump this year.
Trump has surged military assets to the Caribbean region, with much of the pressure being directed at Nicolas Maduro, the left-wing dictator of Venezuela, which neighbors Colombia.
Since September, Trump has carried out a campaign of deadly airstrikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean, prompting criticism from Petro and others who accuse Trump of murdering innocent fishermen without due process.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Sunday that a strike had taken out the members of a far-left Colombian rebel group, but Petro pushed back and claimed the boat belonged to a "humble family."
The first known survivors of Trump's strikes include a Colombian national who is being repatriated to his homeland to face prosecution.
“We are glad he is alive and he will be prosecuted according to the law,” Petro told the AFP.
While President Petro insists his government is fighting back against drug traffickers, cocaine production in his country is at an all-time high.
