Trump calls Colombia's Petro an 'illegal drug leader' and announces an end to US aid to the country

President Donald Trump said he would slash U.S. funding to Colombia because the country's leader "does nothing to stop" drug production

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The United States will slash assistance to Colombia because its leader, Gustavo Petro, “does nothing to stop” drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday, escalating the friction between Washington and one of its closest allies in Latin America.

In a social media post, Trump referred to Petro as “an illegal drug leader” who is “low rated and very unpopular.” The Republican president warned that Petro “better close up” drug operations “or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”

Hours later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest U.S. strike on a vessel that was allegedly carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics.”

He said the vessel was associated with a Colombian rebel group — the National Liberation Army, or ELN — that has been in conflict with Petro’s government. He did not provide any evidence for his assertions, but he shared a brief video clip of a boat engulfed in flames after an explosion on Friday.

Petro, who can be as vocal on social media as his American counterpart, rejected Trump’s accusations and defended his work to fight narcotics in Colombia, the world’s largest exporter of cocaine.