Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that he would be willing to take up arms again if necessary to defend Colombia's sovereignty, responding to what he described as threats from U.S. President Donald Trump amid escalating tensions following Washington's military operation in Venezuela that resulted in Nicolás Maduro's capture.
In a post on X, Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, said he had sworn never to carry a weapon again after the 1989 peace agreement but suggested that commitment could change. "Although I have not been a soldier, I know war and clandestinity," Petro wrote. "I swore not to touch a weapon again after the 1989 peace pact, but for the homeland I would take up arms again, even if I do not want to."
