Overview
- Speaking at the Escuela Militar José María Córdova, President Gustavo Petro told new officers to be ready to defend Colombia's sovereignty "with life."
- U.S. President Donald Trump said he had heard Colombia produces cocaine and declared that any country producing drugs and selling them in the United States is exposed to attacks.
- Petro warned that any action against Colombia would trigger a powerful popular response, saying it would awaken the "sleeping jaguar" in the Colombian people.
- Arguing that Colombia has borne a heavy human toll in the drug war, Petro said the country destroys at least nine drug labs per day and invited Trump to verify those operations.
- The confrontation unfolds as the U.S. runs Operation Lanza del Sur off Venezuela, with reports of bombed boats and more than 70 deaths, and as Petro condemns the strikes while the UN and the DEA question Venezuela’s role as a primary route to the U.S.