President Donald Trump has not ruled out a military operation against Colombia, saying that it \u201csounds good\u201d<\/p>\n
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has vowed to \u201ctake up arms\u201d in the event of a US attack.
\nHis statement followed multiple threats from President Donald Trump in the wake of Saturday\u2019s US attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its leader, Nicolas Maduro.
\nSpeaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the US president accused Petro of orchestrating the cocaine trade and hinted that he could soon also be removed. When asked if the US would launch a military operation against Colombia, Trump replied: \u201csounds good to me.\u201d
\nIn an X post on Monday, Petro promised to resist.
\n\u201cAlthough I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity. I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland I will reluctantly take up arms again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
US president says Colombia raid \u2018sounds good\u2019 after Venezuela attack<\/p>\n
Prior to being elected Colombia\u2019s first left-wing president in 2022, Petro was part of the M-19 communist guerrilla group, which agreed to lay down arms and join mainstream Colombian politics in the late 1980s.
\nAccording to Petro, he has cracked down on the cocaine trade in the country during his term.
\n\u201cI stopped the growth of coca leaf crops and began a great voluntary crop substitution plan by the coca-growing peasant,\u201d he said, arguing that his airstrikes against local cartels needed surgical precision to avoid killing children and peasants, so as not to swell the ranks of Colombian insurgency groups.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Venezuela\u2019s acting president sends message to US<\/p>\n
After Trump\u2019s drug-trafficking accusations and the threat of military intervention, Petro said he demanded that every military officer \u201cwho prefers the flag of the US to the flag of Colombia\u201d resign.
\nFollowing condemnation by Colombia and Cuba of the US attack on Venezuela, Trump also made a veiled threat against the Caribbean island, claiming that it \u201cis ready to fall.\u201d
\nMoscow has condemned the US \u201carmed aggression\u201d against Venezuela, and demanded that Washington release the country\u2019s legally elected president and his wife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump has not ruled out a military operation against Colombia, saying that it \u201csounds good\u201d Colombian President Gustavo Petro has vowed to \u201ctake up arms\u201d in the event…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t