Tensions across Latin America have escalated after Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro issued a defiant response to threats from US President Donald Trump, following Washington’s dramatic military operation in neighbouring Venezuela.
President Petro said he was prepared to “take up arms” to defend Colombia’s sovereignty, reacting to what he described as direct threats and unfounded accusations from the US leader. Mr Trump has accused the Colombian president of links to drug trafficking, claims Bogotá strongly denies.
Writing on social media platform X, Mr Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement who laid down his weapons under a 1989 peace deal, said he had sworn never to carry arms again, but added that he would do so if the nation was threatened.
“I swore not to touch a weapon again… but for the homeland I will take up arms again,” he wrote.
The sharp exchange comes amid heightened regional anxiety after US forces captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, in a surprise military raid on Caracas over the weekend. The operation has been widely condemned by several Latin American governments, who fear it could destabilise the region.
President Trump warned Mr Petro to “watch his ass” and described him as “a sick man” involved in cocaine production, offering no evidence for the allegations. The White House has since imposed financial sanctions on Mr Petro and members of his family, and removed Colombia from a US list of certified partners in the global fight against drugs.
Colombia’s government rejected the accusations, insisting its anti-narcotics strategy is firm but guided by human rights concerns. In a lengthy statement, Mr Petro cautioned that aggressive military tactics could worsen violence.
“If you bomb without proper intelligence, you will kill children,” he said. “If you bomb peasants, you create more guerrillas. And if you detain a president respected by many of my people, you will unleash a popular uprising.”
Relations between Washington and Bogotá have deteriorated since Mr Trump returned to the White House, with the US administration openly aligned with Colombia’s right-wing opposition ahead of legislative and presidential elections later this year.
International reaction has been swift. Several Latin American leaders have condemned US actions in Venezuela as a violation of sovereignty, while global powers including China and Iran have called for the release of President Maduro. The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet to discuss the crisis.