President Trump did not bother sugarcoating anything on Saturday, and that is putting it mildly. Fresh off the U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the president turned his attention north and east and delivered a blunt warning to Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro. The phrase he used was not exactly State Department approved language. Petro, according to President Trump, should “watch his a**.”
The comment came during a press conference when a reporter told President Trump that Petro claimed he had nothing to worry about following the operation against Maduro. Trump clearly disagreed. “He has cocaine mills. He has factories where he makes cocaine. And yeah, I think I stick by first statement,” the president said. Then he doubled down. “He’s making cocaine, and they’re sending it into the United States. So, he does have to watch his a**.” That sound you heard was diplomats everywhere dropping their briefing folders.
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2007503643453559225
This was not a one-off outburst. President Trump first warned Petro last month, calling him a “troublemaker” and accusing Colombia’s leadership of turning a blind eye to drug production. According to reporting from Axios, the feud has been simmering for months, with Trump threatening sanctions and even military action while repeatedly pointing to what he says are major cocaine factories operating in Colombia. “We know where they are, he better close them up fast,” Trump said at the time.
International reaction to the Maduro operation and Trump’s comments has been predictably dramatic. The Guardian rounded up a chorus of outrage from foreign leaders who suddenly discovered a deep concern for international law. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said the U.S. crossed “an unacceptable line,” while China’s foreign ministry accused Washington of “hegemonic behaviour.” The EU chimed in, France lectured, and everyone pretended Latin America has been a peaceful utopia untouched by narco states and corruption.
Reaction inside South America was split. Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, celebrated with “Liberty advances! Long live Liberty!” Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, said “time was coming for all the narco-Chávista criminals.” Petro, meanwhile, went into full meltdown mode, posting frantic messages about missiles, bombings, and emergency UN meetings after strikes in Caracas.
Petro’s outrage might carry more weight if President Trump had not been making the same accusation for months. Cocaine flowing into the United States is not theoretical. Trump’s warning was not subtle, polite, or dressed up in diplomatic language. It was deliberate. The capture of Maduro changed the regional math overnight. Petro insisting he has nothing to worry about sounds a lot like Maduro daring President Trump to come get him. That worked out great the last time.
USA USA Go get the crimminals.