U.S. President Donald Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being involved in cocaine production and did not rule out the possibility of an operation against him, Adyrna correspondent reports, citing RIA Novosti.
“Colombia is also in a very serious situation. It is being run by a ‘sick man’ who likes producing cocaine and selling it to the United States. He has cocaine plants and factories. This will not last long — there will be an operation by the United States,” Trump told journalists.
In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on Trump to stop making defamatory accusations against him. According to Petro, during decades of efforts by Colombia’s justice system to combat drug cartels, his name has never appeared in a single court case.
“I categorically reject Trump’s statements, which stem from ignorance. Over the past 50 years, my name has not appeared in a single court case related to drug trafficking. Do not slander me, Mr. Trump,” Petro wrote on the social media platform X.
Petro also emphasized that Colombia’s judicial system is independent of the executive branch and, in many cases, is under the control of his political opponents. He noted that all materials related to the activities of the region’s largest drug traffickers are stored in open archives of Colombian courts.
“You do not read Colombian history, which is why your criticism is failing. You would be better off meeting with your own officers and experts who investigate drug crimes in Colombia. I assisted them with my own investigations when I was a left-wing senator. Do not look for drug traffickers where there are only genuine fighters for democracy and freedom,” the Colombian president concluded.
