President Donald Trump is ‘not interested’ in making peace with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the White House said Thursday, as tensions between Washington and Bogotá continue to escalate.
‘I don’t think we’re seeing de-escalation from the unhinged leader of Colombia right now,’ press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a White House briefing when asked what Petro could do to reduce tensions.
‘I don’t think the president, frankly, is interested in that at this point,’ Leavitt added.
Relations between the two countries have sharply deteriorated after Petro accused the U.S. of killing innocent fishermen during strikes targeting narco-traffickers in the Caribbean.
Following Petro’s accusation, Trump announced plans to cut off all counter-narcotics aid to Colombia and impose new tariffs on the country.
Trump lashed out at his South American counterpart, calling him a ‘thug’ who is ‘making a lot of drugs.’
‘They’re doing very poorly, Colombia. They make cocaine. They have cocaine factories … and he better watch it or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country,’ Trump said. ‘What he has led his country into is a death trap.’
Petro fired back, threatening to sue Trump in U.S. court.
‘From the slanders that have been cast against me in the territory of the United States by high-ranking officials, I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the American justice system,’ Petro wrote on X. ‘I will always stand against genocides and murders by those in power in the Caribbean.’
‘When our help is required to fight against drug trafficking, American society will have it. We will fight against the drug traffickers with the states that want our help,’ he added.
Petro has sought closer ties with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro while distancing Colombia — a major non-NATO ally — from the United States.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has conducted eight strikes on vessels believed to be transporting narcotics from Latin America. The world is now watching to see whether Trump will follow through on threats to strike Venezuelan soil — or even target Maduro himself, directly or indirectly.
Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and also warned Colombia could face similar consequences.
‘Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, ‘or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.’
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Colombian Embassy in Washington sought to ease tensions, saying the U.S. representative in Bogotá recently met with Petro and that ‘both sides agreed to continue dialogue in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment towards efforts against illicit drug trafficking, grounded in accuracy, coordination, and security.’