President Donald Trump turned up the heat on Colombian President Gustavo Petro this week, issuing a pointed warning to the leftist leader after Petro defended Venezuela against US pressure on its oil sector. And Trump made sure to connect the dots to Colombia's cocaine industry while he was at it.
Cocaine Factories and Diplomatic Threats
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago after discussing plans for new Navy ships, Trump didn't mince words. "He has to watch it because he's got drug factories. They make cocaine in Colombia… He better watch his… because he makes cocaine and they send it into the United States from Colombia," Trump said of Petro.
The president added a qualifier before doubling down: "We love the Colombian people… But their new leader is a troublemaker and he better watch it. He better close up those cocaine factories. There are at least three major cocaine factories. We know where they are."
What Set This Off
Trump's comments followed Petro's weekend criticism of Washington over demands that Venezuela return oil assets it seized from US companies. According to a Latin Times report, Petro argued that the United States conveniently ignores its own history of territorial expansion in Texas, California and the American Southwest.
The timing matters here. The US is actively enforcing a blockade on sanctioned tankers near Venezuela and pursuing shadow-fleet vessels suspected of moving crude oil in violation of sanctions. Colombia, traditionally a close US partner, has become an uncomfortable thorn under Petro's leadership. As Axios notes, Petro has aligned himself as an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, souring what used to be a reliable partnership.
The Numbers Behind the Accusations
Trump's administration isn't just making noise about this. They've already sanctioned Petro and his family over drug trafficking concerns. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid out the case when announcing sanctions in October: "Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans. President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity."
The data backs up at least part of that claim. UN figures show coca cultivation in Colombia climbed to about 253,000 hectares in 2023, keeping the country firmly in place as the world's top cocaine producer. Potential cocaine output jumped roughly 50% from the prior year.
Colombian officials have pushed back, pointing out that US demand and global prices drive the trade just as much as production capacity. According to an Associated Press report, Bogotá is testing new approaches to the problem, including deploying drones to target illegal crops. Whether that's enough to satisfy Washington remains an open question.