Colombia-US Tensions Rise as Envoy Recalled Amid War of Words

Colombia has announced that it has recalled its ambassador to the United States following inflammatory remarks and threats from US President Donald Trump, who over the weekend warned of cutting off aid to the country and referred to Colombian President Gustavo Petro as an “illegal drug leader.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogotá said on Monday that Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Peña had already returned to Colombia to hold consultations with President Petro. The move marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the two nations, which have increasingly clashed over Washington’s recent military actions in the Caribbean.

The Trump administration has carried out a series of strikes in the region on boats it claims are transporting narcotics, largely from Venezuela. Those operations—widely condemned as violations of both US and international law—have resulted in dozens of deaths and prompted strong criticism from Petro.

On Sunday, Trump posted on social media that the US would “cut off all aid” to Colombia and warned that if Petro failed to curb the country’s drug trade, Washington would “do the job itself—and it won’t be done nicely.”

Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti denounced Trump’s comments, describing them as “a threat of invasion or military action against Colombia.”

“I can’t imagine another way to interpret that,” Benedetti said. “You can’t destroy hectares of coca production unless it’s through invasion.”

The US government also revealed over the weekend that one of its strikes on Friday had targeted a vessel allegedly operated by a leftist rebel group from Colombia involved in drug smuggling. However, the Trump administration has not provided any evidence to substantiate that claim.

President Petro responded in a series of social media posts, saying one of the victims of the US strike was a Colombian fisherman, Alejandro Carranza, who had no links to the narcotics trade.

“Officials of the US government have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in our own territorial waters,” Petro wrote.

About the Author

Global Legal Review

Administrator

View All Posts