Tensions between Washington and Bogotá, the Colombian capital, have sharply escalated after former US President Donald Trump launched a fierce attack on his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, calling him a “drug dealer” and an “illegitimate leader of the narcotics trade.” Trump accused Petro’s government of colluding in the spread of drug production across the country.

In a post on his platform Truth Social, Trump claimed that “drug production has become Colombia’s main economic activity,” adding that Petro has taken “no real action” to curb it despite the substantial financial and military support his country receives from the United States.

Trump went further, warning that “starting today, Colombia will receive no more payments or aid from the United States. We will shut down these killing fields ourselves if Petro doesn’t do it, and it won’t be done kindly.”

His comments came just hours after President Petro accused Washington of violating Colombia’s maritime sovereignty, saying that American forces had killed a Colombian fisherman in the Caribbean Sea during an operation the United States described as part of its anti-narcotics campaign.

On his X account, Petro wrote that “employees of the US government committed an assassination and violated our territorial waters,” stressing that the victim, Alejandro Caranza, had no connection to drug trafficking networks and was simply engaged in his daily fishing activity when his boat was struck during the operation.

Petro added that the fishing vessel “was adrift after suffering engine failure” and that the crew had activated a distress signal before the airstrike. He said his government is still waiting for an official explanation from Washington regarding the incident.

According to field reports, US forces have deployed seven warships and several fighter jets in the Caribbean since early September as part of anti-drug operations, conducting at least six airstrikes that have killed no fewer than 27 people. The escalation has sparked widespread criticism both inside Colombia and abroad, further straining the already tense relations between the two nations.