Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently referred to Colombian President Gustavo Petro as “an illegal drug dealer” who is “low rated and very unpopular” in a post on his Truth Social platform. While at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump warned that Petro “better close up” drug operations “or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”

Trump accused Petro of “strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields” across Colombia. Initially, Trump misspelled the country’s name as “Columbia” but later deleted the post and replaced it with the correct spelling.

“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,” Trump stated. He added, “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.” Trump also accused Petro of having “a fresh mouth toward America.”

Earlier on Sunday, Petro accused the U.S. government of assassination and demanded answers following the latest American strike in Caribbean waters. The U.S. announced on Saturday that it was repatriating two survivors of the attack to Colombia and Ecuador. This strike marked the sixth such incident since early September. According to U.S. officials, at least 29 people have been killed in these strikes, which the U.S. says target alleged drug traffickers.

In September, the Trump administration criticized Colombia for failing to cooperate in the drug war. However, Washington issued a waiver of sanctions which would have otherwise led to aid cuts. Colombia remains the world’s largest exporter of cocaine, with cultivation of coca leaves — the critical ingredient — reaching an all-time high last year, according to the United Nations.

More recently, the U.S. State Department announced it would revoke Petro’s visa while he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. This decision was due to Petro’s participation in a protest where he called on American soldiers to stop following Trump’s orders. Petro had said, “I ask all the soldiers of the United States’ army, don’t point your rifles against humanity” and urged them to “disobey the orders of Trump.”

Petro also addressed the incident involving a Colombian man killed in a September 16 strike. He identified the man as Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman from the coastal town of Santa Marta, who, according to Petro, had no ties to drug trafficking. Petro claimed Carranza’s boat was malfunctioning when it was hit.

“The U.S. government officials have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in territorial waters,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The Colombian boat was adrift and had a distress signal on, with one engine up. We await explanations from the US government.” He said he has alerted the attorney general’s office and demanded immediate action to initiate legal proceedings both internationally and in U.S. courts.

Continuing his statements into early Sunday, Petro said, “The United States has invaded our national territory, fired a missile to kill a humble fisherman, and destroyed his family, his children. This is Bolívar’s homeland, and they are murdering his children with bombs.”

Meanwhile, Colombian news program Noticias Caracol reported that a man injured in the most recent strike was hospitalized after being repatriated and remains in serious condition. The report quoted Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti as saying the injured man “will be prosecuted,” describing him as a criminal based on available information indicating the boat was carrying cocaine. Benedetti emphasized that despite the incident occurring in international waters, the repatriation process would proceed as if the man were being prosecuted in the United States. Petro asserted that the man had been aboard a “narco submarine.”

Ecuador’s Ministry of the Interior confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday that the U.S. had repatriated an Ecuadorian man injured in the recent strike. Officials identified him as Andrés Fernando Tufiño Chila, noting that a doctor found him to be in good health. The ministry added that two prosecutors met with Tufiño Chila and concluded that he had not committed any crimes within Ecuador’s borders and that there was no evidence to suggest otherwise.
https://fortune.com/2025/10/19/trump-funding-colombia-gustavo-petro-us-strikes-caribbean-venezuela/