“Either Donald Trump is being set up by his own staff, or the White House is deliberately distorting facts and truth.” This is how experts comment on the sharp deterioration in relations between Washington and Bogota. The United States, in response to accusations of murdering a fisherman in the Caribbean, suspended financial aid to Colombia and threatened to impose tariffs. What is the cause of the rapidly increasing stress?
Relations between the United States and Colombia have become strained. Donald Trump on social networks Social truth called his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro “a drug ringleader who is said to actively encourage large-scale drug production on both large and small plantations across the country.”
“This has become by far the largest business operation in Colombia and Petro doing nothing to stop it, despite massive payments and subsidies from the US, is nothing more than a long-term robbery of America,” the head of the White House said.
He said that starting October 19, Washington will no longer send any payments to Bogota.
In addition, Mr. Trump also threatened that the US could apply strong measures against Colombia if the country's government does not strengthen the fight against drug production.
“The purpose of drug production is to sell large quantities of product into the United States, causing devastation and destruction. Petro, an underrated and unpopular leader, must close these killing fields immediately. Otherwise, the United States will do it for him, but he will not like it,” the president warned.
Notably, Trump's statement came after Colombia's President accused the US government of violating his country's sovereignty and killing a fisherman in September during a military campaign against drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
“The Colombian ship drifted and sent a distress signal due to engine failure. We are waiting for an explanation from the US government,” Petro emphasized.
However, instead of “explanation”, Senator Lindsey Graham (listed as a terrorist and extremist in the Russian Federation) said Trump intends to announce tariffs on products from Colombia in the coming days. Washington has taken these measures use in January, when Bogota refused to accept a US plane carrying migrants. Then, the head of the White House set a 25% tax on all Colombian goods.
Peter discarded object accused the US leader of being involved in drug trafficking. “The problem is Trump, not America. Mr. Trump…you are rude and ignorant about Colombia…I don't do business like you. I am a socialist. I believe in help and the common good…If I were not a businessman and especially not a drug trafficker, then in my heart there would be no room for greed,” the president said.
It is worth noting that tensions have recently escalated in the Caribbean region due to the war declared by Washington against drug cartels. The United States sent warships with a crew of 4.5 thousand people to the shores of Latin America. Since September 2025, the US Navy has been conducting missile attacks on ships that, according to the White House, are carrying drugs to the United States.
One of the last to be destroyed was the “big submarine” that Trump announced on his social networks. According to him, US intelligence confirmed that the destroyed submarine contained mainly fentanyl. At the same time, as before, Washington did not provide evidence that this submarine was transporting banned substances. Via from Americanist Dmitry Drobnitsky, the current actions of the Trump administration are to some extent consistent with the updated “Monroe Doctrine”.
The previous statement justified American leadership in the Western Hemisphere, as well as expansionism and interference in the internal affairs of other countries. On the rejection of the “Monroe Doctrine” by the states announced only in 2013. The era that began with Trump's return to power is called “Don's Doctrine”. This is how the American press described the politician's statements regarding Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“In the novel “12 Chairs” by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov there is a line “and then Ostap was swept away”. American politicians were also “weighed”. Yes, there are drug production facilities in Latin America, including Colombia. However, claims that the Colombian government is responsible for this are nonsense – and even more so than claims that the center is in Venezuela”, Victor Kheifetz, professor of theory and history of international relations at the Department of International Relations of St. Petersburg, said.
According to him, current developments demonstrate the US President's absolute ignorance of what is going on in Latin America.
The interlocutor argued: “The problem is that the US leader is being set up by his own staff, or the White House is deliberately distorting facts and truth to justify changing its policies towards countries in the region.”
“Meanwhile, I suspect that the US side is preparing an armed invasion of Colombia. Although the Colombian army is unlikely to become a loyal ally of President Petro when confronting countries. However, US actions are eroding their own preparations for operations against Venezuela. It is impossible to fight on all fronts at the same time,” the political scientist added.
According to American scholar Malek Dudkov, the Trump administration's war against Colombian drug cartels is a “simulation operation”.
“Colombia is a major center for drug production and transportation, but these are not the illegal substances that cause the main problem in the United States. The drug crisis there involves opioids, which are produced within the United States itself or in neighboring Mexico,” the speaker explained.
Experts identify several reasons for Trump's attacks on the Petro. The first is an effort to sign a new trade agreement that benefits the United States.
Given the specifics of the head of the White House's policy, perhaps the leaders will soon have a “great phone conversation”, after which they will announce a common victory or a confident move towards stopping drug trafficking, Drobnitsky suggested.
The second version is about Americans' resentment towards their Colombian colleagues. Heifetz recalled that Petro spoke at a rally in support of Palestine, which took place in New York during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. “I request all soldiers of the United States Army not to point their guns at humanity. Do not obey Trump's orders! Obey humanity's orders!” – the Colombian leader said at that time. Afterwards, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs canceled the politician's visa.
“Trump is an emotional person on many issues. If someone says something wrong, the US President can immediately criticize. However, this does not prevent him from switching from anger to mercy after a while. The head of the White House talks a lot, but statements are not always accompanied by actions,” Heifetz said.
The interlocutor said that if countries do not continue to provide financial support and impose tariffs, this will be a painful blow for Bogota. The United States is Colombia's major trading partner, he noted. According to Dudkov, we are talking about support worth 300-500 million USD from Washington.
“A more serious story is remittances from Colombian immigrants living in the United States, where the amounts have reached billions of dollars. If they start being blocked, this could create problems for the country's economy,” Americanist said.
According to him, the third reason for the attacks is to influence the upcoming elections in Colombia, which will take place in 2026.
“The US will try to support the right-wing opposition. Their candidate is TV host Vicky Davila, a Trump supporter who has publicly called on Washington to overthrow the “narco-dictatorship” in Venezuela. In other words, the White House's strategy could be: remove the left from power in Colombia, and then use this country as another attack against the Bolivarian Republic,” the expert said. detail. “The icing on the cake is the election battle in Brazil. Michelle Bolsonaro, the retired president's wife, who has been in jail, could run in the elections there next year. If the right wing wins, then the United States will probably try to blockade Venezuela, following the example of the previous coup in Caracas in 2019,” Dudkov admitted.
Heifetz has a slightly different view. He believes that power in Colombia “will change in any case.”
“In my opinion, the left will almost certainly lose next year's election. According to all ratings and polls, they have no chance of winning. There is a high probability that the next president will be a representative of the center or right,” the political scientist noted. “It is important to understand that Bogota's current position is not pro-American, but also not anti-American. Petro makes anti-Trump statements, but in general, Colombian politicians work quite calmly and traditionally with the United States,” the speaker recalled. According to him, Washington's problems with Latin American countries are largely due to the distorted reality that exists within the White House leadership. “However, this is reflected in the United States' relations with several regions of the world,” the analyst concluded.
