Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president and a former guerrilla leader, has warned that he would be prepared to “take up arms” if Donald Trump carries out threats following a US military operation in neighbouring Venezuela.
“I swore not to touch a weapon again… but for the homeland I will take up arms again,” Petro said in a post on X, according to Agence France-Presse.
Trump’s remarks escalate tensions
Over the weekend, Trump warned Petro to “watch his ass” and described Colombia’s first left-wing president as “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
Trump and members of his administration have previously levelled similar accusations against Venezuelan leaders, including Nicolás Maduro and his wife, before they were captured during a US operation in Caracas last Saturday.
Petro rejects drug trafficking accusations
Petro strongly rejected Trump’s claims, pointing to his government’s anti-narcotics record. In a series of posts on X, he said Colombia has carried out large cocaine seizures and slowed the expansion of coca cultivation both before and after Trump’s remarks.
The Colombian president said his administration oversaw what he described as the world’s largest cocaine seizure, reduced coca cultivation growth, and implemented a voluntary crop-substitution programme covering roughly 30,000 hectares.
Criticism of US officials and military posture
Petro also criticised Marco Rubio, accusing him of distorting Colombia’s constitutional order. He said that under Colombian law, the president serves as the supreme commander of both the military and police forces.
He has repeatedly spoken out against the expanding US military presence in the Caribbean, which he said began with the destruction of alleged drug-running boats, escalated to the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers, and culminated in the recent raid on Caracas.
Warnings over military force
In a lengthy post on X, Petro warned that excessive military action could backfire.
“If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children,” he wrote. “If you bomb peasants, thousands will turn into guerrillas in the mountains. And if you detain the president, whom a good part of my people love and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar.”
Political fallout and regional implications
Trump has accused Petro, without presenting evidence, of links to drug trafficking and imposed financial sanctions on him and his family. Washington has also removed Colombia from the list of countries certified as allies in the US-led war on drugs.
The Trump administration is closely aligned with Colombia’s right-wing opposition, which is optimistic about winning upcoming legislative and presidential elections later this year.
Petro, who laid down arms after the M-19 guerrilla group demobilised under a 1989 peace agreement, has frequently clashed with Trump since the Republican returned to the White House in January 2025.
