Colombia denounced this Monday, October 20, a “threat of invasion” from the United States, following Donald Trump’s warning the day before that he mentioned a possible US intervention if Bogotá did not “immediately” stop drug production.
In statements to Blu Radio, the Colombian Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, said that it was a “threat of invasion or land or military action against Colombia.”
Relations between both countries, historically allies, reached their lowest point with the return of Donald Trump to the White House and the election of the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.
Financial aid granted to Bogotá suspended
Gustavo Petro “does nothing to stop” drug production, the US president wrote on his Social Truth network on Sunday, stating that his Colombian counterpart is a “drug lord who strongly encourages the mass production of narcotics” in his country. He also said that he was suspending payment of the financial aid granted to Bogotá, without specifying which ones.
Washington also reported on Sunday a new attack, on October 24, against a ship in the Caribbean. The objective was, according to the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, a ship affiliated with the Colombian guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) suspected of transporting drugs. Number of victims: three dead.
Colombia is the South American country that receives the most financial aid from the United States, according to US data, with more than $740 million disbursed in 2023, the latest year for which data is available.
Half of this amount is dedicated to the fight against drugs. The rest is used in particular to finance humanitarian and food aid programs.
Source: BFM TV
