President Donald Trump made a new threat to Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, saying he could be the next one to fall following the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.
Speaking to press aboard the Air Force One, Trump said the South American country is "run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the U.S., and he's not going to be doing it very long," adding that the country has "cocaine mills and factories."
TRUMP: Colombia is very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the US, and he's not gonna be doing it very long
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 5, 2026
Q: So there's will be an operation by the US in Colombia?
TRUMP: Sounds good to me pic.twitter.com/jotpgg3c1d
Asked if there will be a U.S. operation in Colombia, Trump replied: "Sounds good to me."
Hours earlier. Petro had taunted the Trump administration. During a public address, he took aim at Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying: "If you want to put me in prison, try if you can. Try to get me in an orange jumpsuit. The Colombian people will come out in my defense. These people won't kneel before you. No Colombian is guilty of what happened to your grandfather or your father in Cuba," he claimed.
Petro also posted on social media that he "deeply rejects" Trump's "lies" about him. "You don't threat a Latin American president who began with the armed fight and then fought for peace for the Colombian people."
No es si Maduro es bueno o malo, ni siquiera si es narcotraficante, en los archivos de la justicia colombiana después de medio siglo de lidiar con las mafias más grandes de la cocaína, no aparecen los nombres de Nicolás Maduro ni de Cilia Flores. Quienes han llegado a denunciar…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 5, 2026
In another passage of the post he said he "learned not to be a slave" and rejects his phrase "unilaterally claiming us as your domain." "We, the Latin American people, are republicans and independent, as well as revolutionary. Don't think Latin America is just a nest of criminals who poison your people. Respect us and read our history, I read yours to understand you. Don't see drug-traffickers where there are only genuine warriors of democracy and freedom," he added.
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