Colombian leader responds to claims of being called ‘drug leader’
(MENAFN) Colombian President Gustavo Petro strongly rejected US President Donald Trump’s recent claims that he is a “drug leader,” asserting on Sunday that “the problem is with Trump, not with the US,” while defending Colombia’s record in counter-narcotics and governance.
Petro posted on X that, despite his disagreements with Trump, he “respects the history, culture, and people of the US” and emphasized that Americans are not Colombia’s enemies. “They are not my enemies, and I don’t feel that they are. The problem is with Trump, not with the US,” he wrote.
Responding to Trump’s labeling him an “illegal drug dealer,” Petro insisted he is neither involved in drug trafficking nor motivated by greed. “I am neither a businessperson nor a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart. I have never been able to align with greed,” he said, adding that “a mafia member is someone who embodies greed, which is the defining feature of capitalism.”
Petro also challenged the US claim that a boat recently targeted in the Caribbean belonged to the armed rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN). “What will you say to that family? Please explain why you helped cause the death of a humble fisherman from Santa Marta,” he wrote, noting that the region is historically significant as the land where Simón Bolívar died.
Trump had accused Petro of promoting “large- and small-scale drug production” and announced a halt to all US financial aid to Colombia. The US President claimed that drug production had become “Colombia’s biggest business,” warning that the country’s killing fields needed to be shut immediately or the US would intervene “and it won’t be done nicely.”
Petro dismissed these accusations as being influenced by advisers surrounding Trump and pointed out that, despite tensions, the US continues to provide support to Colombia when it aligns with its own national interests. He stressed that Colombia has consistently maintained a positive relationship with the US and admires its culture.
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