President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a stark warning to Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, saying the leftist leader should “watch his ass” after a U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro provoked regional outrage.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Petro’s government of tolerating drug production that fuels cocaine flows into the United States and said, “He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.”
The comment came amid fallout from a high-profile U.S. military action in Venezuela that Washington says led to Mr. Maduro’s arrest a move that has drawn strong criticism from several Latin American governments.
Mr. Petro condemned the U.S. strikes as an “assault on the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America,” warning the intervention could trigger a humanitarian emergency and worsen instability across the region.
The exchange underscored the deep diplomatic rupture between the Biden-era critics turned Trump administration and left-wing leaders in South America, and raises fresh concerns about regional security and the prospects for international mediation.