Trump Suggests Slashing U.S. Assistance To Colombia Over Drugs

The country's leader, Gustavo Petro rejected Trump's accusations and defended his work to fight narcotics in Colombia.

President Trump said that the U.S. will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports.

The statement comes as Trump referred to the country’s leader, Gustavo Petro, as an “illegal drug leader” who is “low rated and very unpopular.”

Trump suggested that Petro “does nothing to stop” drug production. He warned the leader to “close up” drug operations or the U.S. will “close them up for him and it won’t be done nicely.”

Trump also said that Colombia has “no fight against drugs” and referred to the country as a “drug manufacturing machine” with a “lunatic” for a president.

The threats escalate the tensions between Washington and one of its closest allies in Latin America. Petro rejected Trump’s accusations and defended his work to fight narcotics in Colombia.

The Colombia Foreign Ministry described Trump’s statement as a “direct threat to national sovereignty by proposing an illegal intervention in Colombian territory.”