Colombia’s president has delivered a stark warning, saying relations with the United States have deteriorated to the point where military action can no longer be dismissed.
President Gustavo Petro reports that there is now a “real threat” of US military intervention against Colombia, accusing Washington of behaving like an empire and pushing itself towards international isolation.
His comments follow remarks by US President Donald Trump, who suggested that a military operation targeting Colombia “sounds good”, after recent US strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
‘From global power to global isolation’
Petro said the United States increasingly treats other nations as extensions of a US “empire”, arguing that such an approach risks backfiring.
“The United States risks transforming from dominating the world to becoming isolated from the world,” he said.
The two leaders have a long and hostile history, frequently exchanging insults and threats online. Trump has repeatedly told Petro to “watch his ass”, comments that Petro strongly condemned.
Although the pair spoke by phone on Wednesday evening, a call Trump later described as a “Great Honour” on his Truth Social platform, Petro suggested relations had not meaningfully improved.
He said the conversation lasted just under an hour and focused on drug trafficking in Colombia, Venezuela, and US policy across Latin America.
Anger over US immigration enforcement
One of Petro’s sharpest criticisms was directed at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which he accused of operating like “Nazi brigades”.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has significantly expanded ICE operations, arguing that immigration fuels crime and drug trafficking. His administration says 605,000 people were deported between 20 January and 10 December 2025, while 1.9 million immigrants voluntarily self-deported following an aggressive public awareness campaign.
Around 65,000 people were being held in ICE detention as of 30 November 2025, according to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
Tensions escalated further this week when an immigration agent shot dead Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, in Minneapolis. Federal officials said she attempted to run over agents with her car, but the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, accused the officer of acting recklessly and demanded federal agents leave the city. Protests followed overnight.
Petro said ICE had crossed a dangerous line.
“It no longer only persecutes Latin Americans in the streets, which for us is an affront, but it also kills United States citizens,” he said.
Military threats spark protests in Colombia
Trump’s comments about possible military action triggered demonstrations across Colombia, with protesters rallying in defence of national sovereignty and democracy.
Petro said the threat must be taken seriously, pointing to Colombia’s historical loss of territory, including Panama in the 20th century.
“The prospect of removing this threat depends on the ongoing conversations,” he said.
Asked how Colombia would defend itself in the event of an attack, Petro stressed that dialogue was his preference, but warned that the country has a long history of resistance.
“We don’t even have anti-aircraft defences,” he said.
“We rely on the masses, our mountains and our jungles, as we always have.”
Venezuela, oil and covert operations
Petro confirmed he has spoken with Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, and invited her to Colombia. He accused intelligence agencies of long interfering in Venezuela and denounced what he described as covert operations beyond agreed anti-drug cooperation in Colombia.
Maduro was captured by the US military’s elite Delta Force after a CIA source within Venezuela’s government helped track his location, a development that has heightened fears across the region.
Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, is also rich in oil, coal, gold, silver, emeralds and platinum. Petro suggested US actions in the region are driven by fossil fuel interests, arguing that if Washington had not withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, “there would be no wars and a more democratic and peaceful relationship with the world”.
Bitter personal feud
Trump has repeatedly attacked Petro personally. Speaking aboard Air Force One after the Venezuela operation, he described the Colombian president as “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States”.
Petro denied the accusation outright.
“For 20 years I have been fighting drug cartels, at the cost of my family having to go into exile,” he said.
A former guerrilla fighter, Petro has pursued a controversial “total peace” strategy since taking office, prioritising negotiations with armed groups. Critics argue the approach has been too soft, with cocaine production reaching record levels.
Petro rejected that criticism, saying coca cultivation growth is slowing and homicide rates have fallen most sharply in areas where negotiations are ongoing.
“We are not fools,” he said. “We know who we are negotiating with.”
