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45m ago

Colombia Recalls Ambassador After Trump Cuts Aid and Expands Maritime Drug Strikes

Washington defends the Caribbean campaign as counter‑drug warfare, with Colombia alleging a civilian death and a sovereignty violation.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 (left) and (right) President of Colombia Gustavo Petro Urrego addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025
TOPSHOT - Colombian president Gustavo Petro speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 23, 2025. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro called at the UN General Assembly Tuesday for a "criminal process" to be opened against counterpart Donald Trump for US strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean. (Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP) (Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • President Trump labeled Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” and said U.S. payments and subsidies to Colombia will stop immediately.
  • Colombia’s foreign ministry said Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Peña has returned to Bogotá and signaled plans to take the dispute to international bodies.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a Friday strike on a vessel he said was linked to Colombia’s ELN, reporting three fatalities and describing the boat as on a narcotrafficking route.
  • Trump said U.S. forces destroyed a semi‑submersible he described as laden with fentanyl, with two killed and two survivors repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador; Colombian officials identified their returnee as Jeison Obando Perez and said he will face prosecution.
  • Petro accused the U.S. of killing fisherman Alejandro Carranza in a September strike he says occurred in Colombian waters, while the administration reports at least 29 deaths from operations it describes as targeting traffickers.