Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Monday rejected threats by his US counterpart Donald Trump, who also accused him of being a drug trafficker. US forces attacked Caracas on Saturday, bombing military targets during a shock snatch-and-grab raid to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power and assert Washington’s control over the oil-rich South American nation. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump made similar threats of military action against Colombia, saying the South American country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States”. “He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long,” Trump said. When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, the Republican leader said: “It sounds good to me.”

Source: New Zealand Herald January 05, 2026 12:21 UTC