Overview
- In a Univision interview, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that if U.S. policy does not change, “get rid of Trump.”
- Petro later wrote on X that he was not issuing a threat, urging a change in Trump’s policies or a democratic replacement by U.S. voters.
- The broader rupture traces to a Sept. 15 U.S. action against an alleged drug boat, which Washington says targeted narcoterrorists in international waters and Petro says was a Colombian fishing vessel in a sovereignty breach.
- Trump has frozen millions in aid to Colombia, threatened significant tariffs, publicly labeled Petro a drug trafficker, and the U.S. imposed a visa ban after Petro urged U.S. military personnel to refuse orders.
- Colombian business groups report investor unease as security ties fray and recent U.S. maritime strikes in the Caribbean are reported to have killed more than two dozen suspected traffickers.