"Last week, after Donald Trump sent the United States military into Venezuela to abduct President Nicolás Maduro, President Gustavo Petro of Colombia criticized it as an act of "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America." It was the latest in an escalating series of jibes between two countries that have historically been allies. In response, Trump called Petro a "sick man" who was involved in shipping cocaine to the U.S., said that he should "watch his ass," and told reporters that a military operation against Petro "sounds good to me.""
"Petro, like Trump, is a compulsive user of social media, and though aides have tried to restrain his messaging, he has become Trump's most outspoken leftist critic in the region. After the U.S. began striking alleged drug boats in the waters off Venezuela, this past September, Petro derided Trump as a "barbarian" and the campaign as "murder." (He also suggested that the campaign was intended to distract from the Epstein files, warning that "a clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy.") Trump called Petro a "thug," accused him of being an "illegal drug leader," and placed sanctions on him and members of his family."
"Petro called for rallies to be held across Colombia on January 7th, "in defense of the national sovereignty." In an impassioned video shared through social media, he recalled an old adage predicting that the eagle (the United States) would one day attack the jaguar (the people of Colombia). "Be careful, Trump and Rubio," he said. "If the golden eagle dares to attack, they will find the jaguar awakening powerfully, and history will be changed forever.""
President Gustavo Petro condemned a U.S. military incursion into Venezuela as aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America. President Donald Trump retaliated with personal insults, accusations of drug trafficking, and threats of military action, while imposing sanctions on Petro and his family. The exchange followed U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats and a pattern of hostile rhetoric. Petro called for nationwide rallies in Colombia to defend national sovereignty and invoked a symbolic warning about U.S. aggression awakening popular resistance. Public messaging and social-media attacks have intensified bilateral tensions between Colombia and the United States, raising fears of regional destabilization.
Read at The New Yorker
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