U.S. President Donald Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being a"drug trafficking leader" and announced that he would eliminate all subsidies or any form of payment that Washington provides to the country. The Republican did not present any evidence to support his accusations.
These statements by the Republican leader mark the latest clash with Bogotá in what has been a long chain of encounters since Trump's return to the White House.
"Colombian President Gustavo Petro is a drug trafficking kingpin who promotes massive drug production, both in large and small fields, throughout Colombia," the US leader said—without providing evidence—in a Truth Social message, in which he misspelled the country's name (Columbia).
Trump claimed that drug trafficking"has become Colombia's biggest business by far," and that the Colombian president "does nothing to stop it," despite "large-scale payments and subsidies from the U.S."
The U.S. president stated that these funds earmarked for the country"are nothing more than a long-term scam," and announced that, as of today,"any other form of payment or subsidy will no longer be sent to Colombia."
The Republican magnate then stated that the drugs produced in the country are destined for "the mass sale of products to the United States, causing death, destruction and havoc."
"Petro is a low-approval, very unpopular leader who is being impertinent toward the United States; he better close those killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them for him, and it won't be pretty," Trump stated in his lengthy message.
It's worth remembering that the United States, Colombia's main trading partner, is also the main funder of a vast number of sectors in the country, especially in the fight against drug trafficking and in providing financial support for all kinds of projects and NGOs.
Since Trump's return to the White House, Colombia - as well as countries around the world - has stopped receiving a huge amount of income that it previously
In fact, Colombia was the Latin American country that benefited the most from the funding Washington provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Through this entity alone, the United States allocated around $413 million to Colombia in fiscal year 2024, according to estimates by the Spanish newspaper El País.
With the closure of USAID, non-governmental organizations in Colombia were severely affected.
Later, in July, the United States House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the budget allocated to Colombia of 209 million dollars for fiscal year 2026 (which began on October 1), an amount that represented a sharp reduction to the 410 million that were allocated for fiscal year 2025.
Of the funds, approximately $103 million is for the fight against drug trafficking, $38 million for the Armed Forces, and an additional $67 million to support development programs, economic assistance, and other programs.
Trump's harsh message comes after President Gustavo Petro addressed one of Washington's attacks on a suspected drug-laden boat in Caribbean waters near Venezuela.
Petro stated that the vessel destroyed in the attack on September 16 was Colombian and that one of the fatalities"was a lifelong fisherman" and not a drug trafficker as the US president claims.
Petro also asked the Attorney General's Office to conduct an investigation and suggested pursuing a legal case in international courts.
Trump's statements also come after the violent attack outside the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, in which four uniformed officers were injured by arrows.
