During a recent preparatory meeting for the COP30 climate summit, Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivered an angry tirade against President Donald Trump and his policy in Latin America. Trump, Petro said, was “literally against mankind” for refusing to attend the conference. The Trump administration’s immigration policies were akin to what the Nazis would have done, he said. To top it off, Petro blasted the Trump administration’s boat strikes in the Southern Caribbean, which he claimed were killing “poor young people who are not drug traffickers, but employees of drug traffickers or sometimes fishermen” rather than big-time drug traffickers.
The U.S.’ relationship with Colombia, traditionally its closest ally in South America, is in trouble.
The tense ties between Trump and Petro started immediately after the former took the oath of office in January. During Trump’s first week, Petro refused to accept flights of Colombian migrants deported from the United States. Trump pounced, threatening to enact economic sanctions on Colombia, including 25 percent tariffs on all Colombian goods, if Bogotá didn’t relent. Petro, sensing the financial calamity that would have ensued, backed down.
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