The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, affirmed that he will defend himself before the United States Justice against the “slander” of senior officials of that country against him, after his US counterpart, Donald Trump, called him a “thug and a bad guy” and accused him of manufacturing “many drugs.”
“Of the slander that has been hurled at me in the territory of the United States, senior officials; I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the American justice system,” Petro wrote on his X account, in the midst of the growing diplomatic tension between Bogotá and Washington over anti-drug policy.
Petro added that he will always be “against genocides and assassinations by those in power in the Caribbean.”
From the Oval Office of the White House, Trump told reporters this afternoon that the Colombian president “has done a lot of damage to his country,” days after announcing the end of financial aid to Colombia for its alleged inaction in the fight against drug trafficking and pointing out Petro as a “drug trafficking leader.”
“They have cocaine factories. They grow all kinds of crap and the bad drugs that enter the United States generally go through Mexico, and you better be careful and take very serious measures against him and his country,” Trump added.
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Petro, who has intensified his criticism of Trump since he ordered a military deployment in the Caribbean in August under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, responded that Colombia is willing to fight against drug trafficking alongside states that request its collaboration, including the United States.
“When they require our help to fight against drug trafficking, American society will have it. We will fight against drug traffickers with the states that want our help,” concluded the Colombian head of state in his publication.
These statements and Trump’s announcement of the end of aid come amid the escalation of tensions between Colombia and the United States, its main trading partner, due to the war that Washington has declared against drug trafficking.
The presence of US military ships and aircraft in the waters of the Caribbean Sea has provoked the rejection of governments such as Colombia and Venezuela, further raising tensions with Trump.
This Wednesday, the Pentagon announced a new attack against an alleged drug boat, this time in Pacific waters off Colombia. So far, Petro has not commented on the matter.
With information from EFE.
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