Gustavo Petro has been the President of Colombia since August 2022.Image: keystone
Jan 5, 2026, 10:21 amJan 5, 2026, 10:28 am
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has reacted sharply to the latest threats from US President Donald Trump. The statements were an “illegitimate threat” and he would examine them carefully, wrote Petro on X.
Hoy veré si las palabras en inglés de Trump se traducen como dice la pressa nacional. In other words, more than ever the responder has a saber that has a significant impact on Trump’s ill health.
This is why Mr. Rubio is the author of the president and the dice that…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 5, 2026
If action was taken against him, Petro warned of serious consequences. “If they arrest the president, whom most of my people value and respect, they will unleash the people’s jaguar.” By this, Petro probably means the anger of the people – the jaguar, the largest big cat in South America, is native to the country’s rainforests.
At the same time, the head of state called on the security forces to be loyal. “Every soldier in Colombia has an order from now on: Any commander of the security forces who prefers the US flag to the Colombian flag will be immediately dismissed from the institution on the orders of the base, the troops and me.” He has trust in his people: “The order to the security forces is not to shoot at the people, but at the attacker.”
Trump: Colombia ruled by a “sick man”.
Trump had previously sharply attacked Colombia. The Republican said the country was run by a “sick man” who loved “producing cocaine and selling it to the United States.” When asked by a journalist whether there would be military action against Colombia, Trump said: “That sounds good to me.”
Gustavo Petro said Colombia was not doing enough to combat drug trafficking.Image: keystone
Petro rejected allegations that Colombia was not doing enough to combat drug trafficking. He referred, for example, to large cocaine seizures and operations against armed groups. “I am neither illegitimate nor a drug dealer,” he wrote on X.
The USA attacked a number of targets in Venezuela on Saturday night, captured President Nicolás Maduro and took him out of the country. He is to be tried in New York on drug charges. Colombia is a neighboring country of Venezuela in South America and is considered an important cocaine production location. (sda/dpa)