Colombia’s Petro Threatens Armed Resistance After Donald Trump Warns Country May Be Next

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday threatened an armed response against the United States following comments by President Donald Trump suggesting Colombia could become the next target in Washington’s expanded war on drugs after U.S. military action in Venezuela, as reported by Fox News.

Petro, a former member of the leftist M-19 guerrilla movement that demobilized in the early 1990s, made the remarks in a post on X after Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

Trump’s comments followed the capture and arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

“Although I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity,” Petro wrote in a message translated from Spanish.

“I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland, I will take up arms again that I do not want.”

Petro also rejected Trump’s accusations that he is connected to drug trafficking.

“I am not illegitimate, nor am I a narco,” Petro wrote.

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“I only have as assets my family home, that I still pay for with my salary. My bank statements have been published. No one could say that I have spent more than my salary. I am not greedy.”

Hoy veré si las palabras en inglés de Trump se traducen como dice la prensa nacional. Por tanto, más tarde las responderé hasta saber lo que significa realmente la amenaza ilegítima de Trump.

En cuanto al señor Rubio que desliga autoridades del presidente y dice que el…

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 5, 2026

Trump’s remarks came as he addressed reporters aboard Air Force One, where he warned that Colombia is “very sick too” and is “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

Trump also claimed Petro has “cocaine mills and cocaine factories.”

When asked directly whether the United States would carry out an operation in Colombia, Trump replied, “It sounds good to me,” before shifting the discussion to his interest in annexing Greenland.

.@POTUS: “Colombia’s very sick, too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States — and he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” pic.twitter.com/TkstSRX4WM

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026

The comments echoed earlier warnings Trump issued in December, when he told Petro he had “better wise up” or risk becoming the next target.

Trump has previously labeled Petro an “illegal drug dealer” and later referred to him as a “lunatic.”

Petro has emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal critics in Latin America.

He has condemned U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, previously claiming that many of those killed were “poor fishermen” forced into the drug trade.

In November, Petro referred to Trump as a “barbarian” and temporarily halted intelligence sharing with Washington.

Colombia’s narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups, including the Gulf Clan, the ELN, and dissident factions of the FARC.

Petro has warned that U.S. bombing campaigns would radicalize rural populations, arguing that campesinos would become “thousands of guerrillas in the mountains.”

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the Trump administration revoked Petro’s U.S. visa over what officials described as reckless actions.

“Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence,” the U.S. State Department said in a post on X at the time.

“We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.”

Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.

We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.

— Department of State (@StateDept) September 27, 2025

Fox News Digital reported it reached out to the White House for comment following Petro’s latest statements.

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