{"id":110486,"date":"2026-01-09T05:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T05:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=110486"},"modified":"2026-01-09T05:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T05:05:00","slug":"there-is-a-real-threat-of-us-military-action-against-colombia-president-tells-bbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=110486","title":{"rendered":"There is a \u2018real threat\u2019 of US military action against Colombia, president tells BBC"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 13 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Colombia\u2019s President Gustavo Petro has told the BBC that he believes there is now a \u201creal threat\u201d of US military action against Colombia.<\/p>\n

Petro said the United States is treating other nations as part of a US \u201cempire\u201d. It comes after Trump threatened Colombia with military action. He said that the US risks transforming from \u201cdominating the world\u201d to becoming \u201cisolated from the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also accused US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of acting like \u201cNazi brigades\u201d. Trump has significantly expanded ICE operations as part of what the administration says is a crackdown on crime and immigrants who illegally entered the US.<\/p>\n

The BBC has approached the White House for comment.<\/p>\n

Following US strikes on Venezuela and the seizure of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, US President Donald Trump said a military operation targeting Colombia \u201csounds good\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump has also repeatedly told Petro to \u201cwatch his ass\u201d, remarks Petro strongly condemned.<\/p>\n

Trump and Petro spoke by phone on Wednesday evening, after which Trump said he\u00a0would meet his Colombian counterpart at the White House in the \u201cnear future. Writing on his Truth Social platform late on Wednesday after the call, Trump described his conversation with Petro as a \u201cGreat Honour\u201d. A Colombian official said at the time that the conversation had reflected a 180-degree shift in rhetoric \u201cfrom both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

But on Thursday, Petro\u2019s tone suggested relations had not significantly improved.<\/p>\n

He told the BBC the call lasted just under an hour, \u201cmost of it occupied by me,\u201d and covered \u201cdrug trafficking Colombia\u201d and Colombia\u2019s view on Venezuela and \u201cwhat is happening around Latin America regarding the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petro strongly criticised recent US immigration enforcement, accusing ICE agents of operating like \u201cNazi brigades\u201d.<\/p>\n

President Trump has often blamed immigration for crime and trafficking in the US, using it to justify large-scale enforcement operations, and has accused countries like Colombia and Venezuela of not doing enough to tackle drug-trafficking.<\/p>\n

Since returning to the White House, the US president has sent ICE agents to cities across the country. The agency enforces immigration laws and conducts investigations into undocumented immigration. It also plays a role in removing undocumented immigrants from the US.<\/p>\n

The administration says it\u00a0deported 605,000 people between 20 January and 10 December 2025. It also said 1.9 million immigrants had \u201cvoluntarily self-deported\u201d, following an aggressive public awareness campaign encouraging people to leave the country on their own to avoid arrest or detention.<\/p>\n

About 65,000 people were in ICE detention as of 30 November 2025, according to data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse\u2019s immigration project, a compendium of government data from Syracuse University.<\/p>\n

This week a US immigration agent shot dead a 37-year-old US citizen in the city of Minneapolis, sparking protests overnight.<\/p>\n

Federal officials said the woman,\u00a0Renee Nicole Good, had tried to run over immigration agents with her car but the city mayor, Democrat Jacob Frey, said the agent who shot her had acted recklessly and demanded agents leave the city.<\/p>\n

Petro said ICE had \u201creached the point where it no longer only persecutes Latin Americans in the streets, which for us is an affront, but it also kills United States citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that if this continued, \u201cinstead of a United States dominating the world \u2013 an imperial dream \u2013 it is a United States isolated from the world. An empire was not built by being isolated from the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petro said the US has for \u201cdecades\u201d treated other governments, particularly in Latin America, as an \u201cempire\u201d regardless of the law.<\/p>\n

The two leaders have long been adversaries, frequently trading insults and tariff threats on social media.<\/p>\n

Following the US\u2019s military action in Venezuela, Petro accused Washington of seeking wars over \u201coil and coal,\u201d adding that if the US had not pulled out of the Paris Agreement, where countries agreed to limit global temperature rising by reducing fossil fuel use, \u201cthere would be no wars, there would be a much more democratic and peaceful relationship with the world. And South America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Venezuelan issue is about this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After Trump\u2019s comments threatening military action in Colombia, demonstrations were held across the country in the name of sovereignty and democracy.<\/p>\n

Petro told the BBC that Trump\u2019s remarks amounted to a \u201creal threat\u201d, citing Colombia\u2019s loss of territory such as Panama in the 20th century, and said \u201cthe prospect of removing [the threat] depends on the ongoing conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how Colombia would defend itself in the event of a US attack, Petro said he would \u201cprefer it to be about dialogue.\u201d He said that \u201cwork is being done\u201d on this.<\/p>\n

But he added: \u201cColombia\u2019s history shows how it has responded to large armies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about confronting a large army with weapons we don\u2019t have. We don\u2019t even have anti-aircraft defenses. Instead, we rely on the masses, our mountains, and our jungles, as we always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petro confirmed he had also spoken to Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, Venezuela\u2019s acting president and former vice president and oil minister, and invited her to Colombia.<\/p>\n

He said Venezuela had \u201clong been subject to interference by various intelligence agencies,\u201d adding that while such agencies had permission to operate in Colombia, it was solely to combat drug trafficking. He denounced attempts at what he said were other \u201ccovert operations\u201d in Colombia.<\/p>\n

He did not directly comment when asked whether he feared the CIA could carry out covert operations similar to their actions in Venezuela in Colombia, or whether he feared his own government or inner circles may have informants.<\/p>\n

Maduro was captured by the US army\u2019s Delta Force, the military\u2019s top counter-terrorism unit,\u00a0after a CIA source in Venezuelan government\u00a0helped the US track his location.<\/p>\n

As the world\u2019s largest producer of cocaine, Colombia is a major hub for the global drug trade. It also has significant oil reserves, as well as gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal.<\/p>\n

The US has said it will control sales of Venezuelan oil \u201cindefinitely\u201d as it prepares to roll back restrictions on the country\u2019s crude in global markets.<\/p>\n

Speaking aboard Air Force One after the Venezuela operation, Trump described Petro as a \u201csick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,\u201d adding: \u201cHe\u2019s not going to be doing it for very long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petro denied the claims, saying it has \u201calways been proven that I\u2019m not involved in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 20 years I have been fighting against the drug cartels, at the cost of my family having to go into exile,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A former guerrilla, Petro has pursued a \u201ctotal peace\u201d strategy since taking office, prioritising dialogue with armed groups. Critics say the approach has been too soft, with cocaine production reaching record levels.<\/p>\n

Asked what failed and whether he accepted responsibility, Petro said coca cultivation growth was slowing and described \u201ctwo simultaneous approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne, talking about peace with groups that are bandits. And the other, developing a military offensive against those who don\u2019t want peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said negotiations were ongoing in southern Colombia, \u201cwhere the greatest reduction in coca leaf cultivation has occurred\u201d and \u201cwhere the homicide rate in Colombia has fallen the most.\u201d Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant.<\/p>\n

The policy of dialogue, he said, was intended to \u201cde-escalate violence\u201d, adding: \u201cwe\u2019re not fools, we know who we\u2019re negotiating with.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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