Colombian president says ‘the problem is with Trump, not with US’
BOGOTA / ANKARA
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, after being called a “drug leader” by US President Donald Trump, said on Sunday that “the problem is with Trump, not the US,” and defended Colombia’s record.
Petro wrote on the US social media company X that despite his disagreements with Trump: “I respect the history, culture, and people of the US.”
“They are not my enemies, and I don’t feel that they are. The problem is with Trump, not with the US,” he emphasized.
Petro also responded to Trump’s labeling of him as a “drug dealer,” saying: “Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the US; on the contrary, it has always admired its culture.”
“I am neither a businessperson nor a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart. I have never been able to align with greed,” he stated, adding: “A mafia member is someone who embodies greed, which is the defining feature of capitalism.”
Petro also argued that the boat targeted by the US in the Caribbean on suspicion of carrying drugs did not belong to the armed rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN).
“What will you say to that family? Please explain why you helped cause the death of a humble fisherman from Santa Marta,” Petro said. “This is the land where Bolívar died — a place known as the heart of the world.”
According to local media reports, the US had claimed the boat targeted in the Caribbean was linked to the ELN.
Trump recently labeled Petro an “illegal drug dealer” and announced that all US financial aid to Colombia would be cut off.
Trump accused Petro of promoting “large- and small-scale drug production” across the country and claimed that drug production had become “Colombia’s biggest business.”
“Colombian President Gustavo Petro is an illegal drug dealer,” Trump said, adding that from now on, Colombia would receive no payments or subsidies from the US.
“Petro, a low-rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely,” Trump said.
In his first response to the accusations, Petro said: “Trump has been misled by the groups and advisers around him.”
In September, the US decertified Colombia as a partner in counter-narcotics efforts but later announced that it would continue providing aid, stating that the support remained in its own national interest.
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