A significant diplomatic crisis has erupted between Colombia and the United States. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has directly accused the U.S. of the ‘murder’ of an innocent fisherman during a Caribbean strike, which American authorities allege targeted a drug-carrying vessel. In swift retaliation, President Trump announced on Sunday a halt to U.S. aid to Colombia, a long-standing key recipient in Latin America, and threatened to impose new tariffs on Colombian imports.
This escalating feud highlights broader regional tensions, particularly concerning a massive U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean. Ostensibly aimed at Venezuela, this operation has resulted in the deaths of numerous individuals aboard vessels that the Trump administration claims were involved in drug trafficking from Venezuela.
Critics point out that the administration has offered limited concrete evidence, relying mainly on intelligence assessments and edited videos of the attacks. Legal experts have deemed these killings unlawful, asserting that military forces cannot legally target civilians who pose no immediate threat or are not actively engaged in hostilities.
President Petro took to social media to state, ‘U.S. government officials have committed a murder and violated our sovereignty in territorial waters.’ He identified the victim of the mid-September incident as Alejandro Carranza, a ‘lifelong fisherman’ whose boat, he claimed, was damaged and adrift—likely in Colombian waters—when attacked. Independent verification of Mr. Carranza’s identity and the state of his vessel was not immediately available.
In a fiery response, Mr. Trump lambasted President Petro for allegedly failing to control illicit drug production, labeling him an ‘illegal drug dealer’ with ‘a fresh mouth toward America.’ He further announced that the U.S. would immediately cease aid payments to Colombia, a nation traditionally heavily reliant on American counternarcotics support. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump confirmed that new tariffs on Colombian products would be revealed on Monday.
Their relationship has been fraught with conflict since the beginning of the second Trump administration.
Just after assuming office in January, Mr. Trump previously threatened severe tariffs on Colombia when President Petro resisted the U.S.’s use of military aircraft for migrant deportations to Colombia.
Image: A man in a white shirt speaking at a podium. Caption: President Gustavo Petro of Colombia at the United Nations headquarters in New York City last month. Credit: Vincent Alban/The New York Times
Furthermore, the U.S. revoked Mr. Petro’s visa in September during the United Nations General Assembly, following his public call for American soldiers to defy Mr. Trump at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York.
The full repercussions of Trump’s latest aid cuts remain uncertain. His administration had already significantly reduced aid to Colombia, mirroring cuts across other Latin American nations, earlier this year.
Initially, Colombia was slated to receive over $400 million in aid this year. However, according to Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, prior cuts by the Trump administration had already reduced this amount to roughly a quarter of the original sum.
Although counter-narcotics cooperation between the two nations persists, overall American assistance has dwindled since the era of ‘Plan Colombia,’ a major early 2000s initiative designed to combat drug cartels and leftist insurgencies, which concluded a decade ago.
Beyond financial implications, this diplomatic spat highlights the potential for Colombia to suffer further consequences from the ongoing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean.
It’s important to note that Colombia is the world’s leading cocaine producer and a far more significant actor in the global drug trade than Venezuela. Venezuela, in contrast, produces negligible cocaine and has virtually no involvement in fentanyl production or smuggling.
Image: Two speedboats full of people on the sea. Caption: Migrants headed from Panama to Colombia in May after failing to enter the United States. Credit: Federico Rios for The New York Times
Following Mr. Trump’s announcement of aid suspension, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed another U.S. strike on a vessel. Hegseth alleged this boat was linked to Colombia’s National Liberation Army rebel group and was carrying narcotics, though no evidence was publicly offered to substantiate these claims regarding the Friday attack.
This deployment marks the largest U.S. military presence in the region in decades, involving approximately 10,000 troops, numerous aircraft, and ships. While officially framed as a counter-drug and counter-terrorism operation by the Trump administration, private discussions among officials indicate a primary objective: to oust Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
President Petro, a leftist and former urban guerrilla, assumed office in 2022 and has consistently backed Mr. Maduro amidst the ongoing Washington-Caracas crisis. His readiness to openly challenge Mr. Trump stands in stark contrast to the more cautious approach typically taken by other Latin American leaders.
Within Colombia, President Petro’s stance has elicited mixed reactions. Vicky Dávila, a prominent journalist and conservative presidential hopeful, voiced her support for Mr. Trump on social media, asserting that ‘Petro and his corrupt Government have favored drug trafficking in every way possible.’
Conversely, Senator Iván Cepeda, a staunch supporter of President Petro, suggested that Mr. Trump should rather address the substantial demand for illegal drugs within the United States. ‘We have a dignified president,’ Mr. Cepeda declared, ‘one who does not kneel and who demands that the United States take responsibility for its role in the drug trafficking problem.’
Image: A lone person walks through a field with a large white sack balanced on his head and shoulders. Caption: A laborer carrying bags of coca leaves, in La Paz, Colombia, in 2021. Credit: Federico Rios for The New York Times
Over the weekend, President Petro utilized social media to press his attorney general to assist the family of Alejandro Carranza, the fisherman killed in the September attack, in pursuing legal claims against the United States.
He proposed that the Carranza family collaborate with a Trinidadian family, who also claims a relative was killed in a separate U.S. strike, to pursue their claims.
While the U.S. Caribbean campaign largely targets suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers, these operations have resulted in casualties and injuries among individuals from other nations as well.
Last week, a 34-year-old Colombian national, Jeison Obando Pérez, along with an Ecuadorian citizen, were involved in the sixth U.S. airstrike of its kind. Both survived the incident.
They were rescued by U.S. forces and received initial treatment aboard a Navy ship in the Caribbean after their semi-submersible vessel was destroyed in Thursday’s attack.
Upon repatriation on Saturday, Mr. Obando Pérez was hospitalized in Colombia, suffering from brain trauma and requiring ventilator support, as announced by Colombia’s Interior Minister, Armando Benedetti, on social media. Benedetti stated that once conscious, Obando Pérez would face legal proceedings for drug trafficking.
The Ecuadorian survivor from Thursday’s incident was also repatriated on Saturday and is currently undergoing medical evaluation.