WASHINGTON — President Trump's offhand comment threatening to attack Colombia, a key US ally, has rattled its government and confused a public worried and unsure whether to take the US leader seriously.
Trump's remarks came as reporters asked questions Tuesday about a proposed U.S. military campaign against drug trafficking networks in Latin America. The president said the mission could expand beyond Venezuela, a major target of nascent U.S. military plans.
“I heard that Colombia, the country of Colombia, produces cocaine,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting. “Then they sell us their cocaine. We really appreciate that, but yes, anyone who does that and sells it into our country is under attack. Not just Venezuela.”
Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist president who has repeatedly clashed with the White House, compared Trump's bellicose rhetoric to to declare war.
“Do not threaten our sovereignty, for you will awaken the Jaguar,” Peter wrote on X. “An attack on our sovereignty is a declaration of war; do not damage two centuries of diplomatic relations.”
In an official communiqué, Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the “brotherly” countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to reject “any attempt at foreign interference aimed at undermining sovereignty.”
Trump's latest threat comes amid worsening relations with Bogota, which just three years ago celebrated the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Washington and celebrated the occasion by nominated by President Biden as a major non-NATO allya status celebrated on Capitol Hill across party lines.
Peter's election that year ushered in a change: U.S. aid was cut in 2024 due to Peter's drug policies and was suspended entirely by the Trump administration earlier this year. The Ministry of Finance called Peter “illegal drug dealerin October and imposed sanctions against him and his family.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been sharply critical of President Trump.
(Fernando Vergara/Associated Press)
Evan Ellis, who in Trump's first term worked to plan the State Department's Latin America, the Caribbean and international counternarcotics policies, told The Times that strikes on Colombia are unlikely — but not as far-fetched as the prospect of a U.S. attack on Mexico, whose economic clout is greater and whose government has a better track record of diplomacy with Washington.
“There's a lot of hope that this is just bluster – that given that Colombia has a sovereign government that the United States recognizes and has long partnered with, it's clear that this would be a disaster for the relationship,” Ellis said. “There is a combination of anxiety and confusion, but hopefully this is just part of the president's style.”
Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau have deep knowledge of the region and are said to oppose military strikes on US allies. But Petro's insults at Trump, calling him “ignorant,” “extremely rude” and “inhumane,” angered a US president accustomed to fawning praise.
“In some ways, despite the close military relationship and everything at stake, you clearly have a president who has been careless at best,” Ellis said of Petro. “Making harsh and challenging statements about Trump is the most obvious way to play on his bad side.”
United Nations data shows that Colombia's coca cultivation, the raw ingredient in cocaine, has reached record levels in recent years, fueled by rising demand for cocaine not only in the United States but also in Europe and other countries.
While U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been strained for more than a quarter century, Colombia has long been considered a staunch ally, receiving billions of dollars in anti-drug aid from Washington. The alliance survived despite Colombia's large-scale internal strife and the country's status as the world's main producer and exporter of cocaine.
The specter of a US military attack seemed unfathomable to many Colombians reading the news Wednesday.
“A few years ago, we would never have thought that Colombia could be threatened by attacks on its territory,” said Sebastian Bitar, an analyst at the University of the Andes. “We believed in a strong relationship between the United States and Colombia.”
Guillermo Coches, a Panamanian politician who served as his country's ambassador to the Organization of American States, said Trump's threat against Colombia amounted to bragging, noting the close ties between the US Southern Command and the Colombian military. “The most Americanized army in Latin America is the Colombian army,” Coches told The Times.
“The United States will not do anything in Colombia because it needs to solve the problem with Venezuela first. That will happen in the next step,” Koches said.
“Petro has a lot of problems inside Colombia, and the American government knows this,” Koches added. “It's a distraction for Donald Trump. He's trying to use his fight with Trump to gain respect in Colombia.”
The two countries' armed forces have been cooperating for many years, conducting joint exercises and counter-narcotics operations. A unilateral strike could destroy that relationship, Colombian daily El Heraldo wrote in an editorial, warning that a U.S. attack could trigger “an unprecedented regional response that would displace internally displaced people.” [civilians]responses from various actors, border crises and new diasporas.”
Across Latin America, Trump's saber-rattling has alarmed many, especially on the left, reflecting the region's historical wariness of American intervention.
Alejandro Rusconi, an Argentine lawyer and left-wing analyst, called Trump's statements “another demonstration of the escalating belligerence carried out by the US government against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
But many local analysts warn that Colombia needs to heed Trump's threat and take all necessary steps to avoid direct confrontation.
“Now is not the time to provoke the United States,” economist Mauricio Reyna told Colombian publication Red Más Noticias.
“With Donald Trump,” he added, “you need to fly low, avoid the radar.”
