"Come get me": Colombian president's war of words with Trump escalates
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President Trump (left) and Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro. Photos: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds and Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images
After the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, tensions between President Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro are boiling over.
Why it matters: What Trump has called a "successful" attack on Venezuela could embolden his administration to pursue a military actios in Colombia against the country's alleged drug facilities — or its leadership.
Driving the news: Petro, who condemned the U.S. operation in Venezuela, seemed to taunt Trump Monday, saying in a statement: "Come get me. I'm waiting for you here."
- "If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children," Petro said Monday on X. "If you bomb peasants, thousands of guerrillas will return in the mountains. And if you arrest the president whom a good part of my people want and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar."
- Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday that the country is willing to "maintain international relations based on dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect," and "considers threats or the use of force in relations between States unacceptable."
The other side: "Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States," Trump told reporters Sunday, referring to Petro. "And he's not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you."
- "He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
- Asked if the U.S. would launch an operation against the country, the president said, "It sounds good to me."
- White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Axios: "As President Trump outlined in his National Security Strategy, the administration is reasserting and enforcing the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, control migration, and stop drug trafficking."
- "The President has many options at his disposal to continue to protect our homeland from illicit narcotics that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year," she added.
Catch up quick: Trump in October sanctioned Petro, members of his family and the country's interior minister over alleged ties to the illicit drug trade.
- Petro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking, saying he "ordered the largest seizure of cocaine in world history."
- Petro also accused the U.S. of killing a "lifelong fisherman" in a September strike, amid a series of attacks on vessels the administration said were necessary to stop the flow of drugs.
- Trump in December also warned that Petro needed to "watch his ass," over the cocaine he said the country is sending to the U.S.
Go deeper: Trump hints at more military actions. Here are the countries to watch
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from the White House.
