In the wake of the US attacks on Venezuela, Donald Trump now turns his gaze onto the Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
Under President Donald Trump, the US has bombed boats off the shores of Venezuela and on Wednesday, the US military took a Venezuelan oil tanker, evidently to keep the oil. However, Trump hasn’t finished with South American countries, as he now threatens Colombian President Gustavo Petro, telling him he is next. The president warns Petro that Colombia is the next target for his anti-drug campaign.
A White House round table with business leaders on Wednesday saw one reporter ask Trump if he had spoken to Gustavo Petro. Trump’s response was, “I haven’t really thought too much about him. He’s been fairly hostile to the United States.” The president then went on the offensive, saying, “He’s going to have himself some big problems if he doesn’t wise up.”
As reported by Politico, Trump went on to accuse the South American country of producing “a lot of drugs,” saying, “They have cocaine factories. They make cocaine, as you know, and they sell it right into the United States. So he better wise up, or he’ll be next. He’ll be next. I hope he’s listening. He’s going to be next because we don’t like people when they kill people.”
Donald Trump threatens Colombia🇨🇴, saying after Nicolas Maduro, Gustavo Petro is NEXT
Unless a united pan-Latin American front is created, a more heinous, barbaric version of the Monroe Doctrine and Operation Condor will be imposed upon the continent. pic.twitter.com/RgFzFTC1nG
— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) December 11, 2025
These latest statements come in the wake of the US military operation in the Caribbean Sea where an oil tanker was seized to “punish” Venezuela and Iran for alleged sanction violations. The large oil tanker was en route to Iran at the time of the attack.
However, Trump’s anger with Petro is nothing new, as he has had a rocky relationship with the left-wing Colombian president. However, the president’s aggressive statements towards Petro have further strained relations with Colombia, a country that partnered with the US for decades in its part in the global war on drugs.
Meanwhile, until Trump returned to the US presidency in January this year, Colombia was one of the largest recipients of US aid in that region. Moreover, the South American country not only fights cocaine production within its borders, but is also embroiled in a six-decade internal conflict between government forces and right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels and criminal networks.
The country is the largest producer of coca in the world, which is used as a raw material for cocaine and other products. According to United Nations estimates, almost 253,000 hectares, or 625,176 acres are used for the crop’s cultivation. The crop is traditional used in Andean cultures for stimulant, spiritual and nutritional purposes, to fight fatigue and altitude sickness, and to provide minerals and vitamins. Eradicating the coca industry will largely disadvantage Colombian rural farmers, without offering them an alternative means to make a living.
Instead, the Colombian government is focusing on attacking the criminal networks that illegally convert coca into drugs. However, Donald Trump accuses Petro of failing to take more aggressive action against the cocaine production in the country. Moreover, the president has repeatedly warned that he could take military action with Colombia over this issue.
While on October 23, Trump called Petro a “thug,” stating that Colombia is “not going to get away with it much longer.” Fast forward to December 2, the president spoke directly to Petro about the possibility of a military attack on the country during a cabinet meeting.
“I hear Colombia, the country of Colombia, is making cocaine,” Trump said. “Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack.”
However, Petro swiftly responded to Trump’s military threats on the X social media platform, reminding Trump that Colombia has been integral in the “war on drugs.” The Colombian president claims that as many as 18,400 narcotics laboratories have been shut down during his time in office.
NEW:
🇺🇸🇨🇴Gustavo Petro Colombian President, to President Trump:
“Come to Colombia, Mr. Trump, I invite you, so you can participate in the destruction of the nine drug labs we destroy daily to prevent cocaine from reaching the US.
Without missiles, I have destroyed 18,400 drug… pic.twitter.com/T3flYqJFFE
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) December 2, 2025
“If any country has helped stop thousands of tons of cocaine from being consumed by Americans, it is Colombia,” Petro wrote.
Moreover, Petro warned Trump to not “awaken the jaguar” by launching a military attack on an ally.
“Attacking our sovereignty is declaring war,” Petro said. “Do not damage two centuries of diplomatic relations.”
He went on to invite the US president to participate in the fight against cocaine trafficking, telling him, “Come to Colombia, Mr Trump. I invite you, so you can participate in the destruction of the nine laboratories we dismantle every day.”
