Overview
- President Donald Trump labeled Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” and announced an immediate stop to U.S. payments and subsidies to Colombia, also threatening to impose tariffs.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a Friday strike targeted a vessel tied to Colombia’s ELN in international waters, reporting three fatalities and calling the men narco‑terrorists.
- Colombia’s foreign ministry rejected Trump’s accusations as a violation of sovereignty, said it would go to international bodies, and recalled its ambassador for consultations.
- U.S. authorities repatriated two survivors from a separate strike — a Colombian identified as Jeison Obando Perez and an Ecuadorian — after Trump claimed the semi‑submersible carried fentanyl and other narcotics.
- The U.S. has conducted at least seven maritime strikes since early September, with at least 32 people killed, as critics demand public evidence and question the legality of using lethal force in international waters.