Latin America should unite or face being ‘treated as slaves’: Colombia president warns after Trump threat

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has warned that Latin American countries must unite or risk being “treated as servants and slaves,” following a series of threats by US President Donald Trump that included the possibility of a military operation in Colombia.

Petro’s remarks came after Trump publicly threatened the Colombian leader while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, a day after US forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a military attack on Caracas.

During the flight, Trump described Colombia and Venezuela as “very sick” countries and accused Petro of running a government involved in cocaine production and trafficking to the United States. Referring to Petro, Trump said, “And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you.”

When asked whether he was referring to a similar US military attack on Colombia, Trump responded, “Sounds good to me.”

In response, Petro issued a lengthy post on X, calling on Latin American nations to stand together. “The US is the first country in the world to bomb a South American capital in all of human history,” he wrote, referring to the attack on the Venezuelan capital.

Petro said Latin America must unite and become a region capable of engaging with the world on its own terms, trading and cooperating globally rather than looking “only to the north.”

Trump also escalated rhetoric against Venezuela, insisting the United States was “in charge” of the country, despite the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s appointment of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader following Maduro’s abduction. He reiterated threats to send US troops back to Venezuela if the country “doesn’t behave.”

Maduro and Flores are due to appear in court in New York on Monday on what Washington has called “drug-related charges,” following their detention by US forces.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuelan officials to make the “right decision” or face increased military, political, and economic pressure from Washington.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, condemned the US attack in a televised address, calling the abduction of Maduro a violation of sovereignty and demanding his immediate release. She said a National Defense Council had been formed and vowed that Venezuela would “never again be a colony of any empire.”

She also said governments around the world were “simply shocked” by the unlawful aggression on a sovereign nation.

Trump repeats threats against Cuba, Mexico

Trump further claimed that “a lot of Cubans” were killed during the US raid on Venezuela and said military aggression against Cuba was unlikely because the island appeared “ready to fall” on its own.

“Cuba literally is ready to fall,” Trump said, alleging that Cuban Americans would be “very happy” with the situation.

The US president also issued warnings to Mexico, saying the country needed to “get their act together” over “drug trafficking” and claimed that drug cartels were “running Mexico.”

This is not the first time Trump has issued such menacing comments concerning the two nations.

Trump’s threats towards Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico came amid renewed US assertions of dominance in Latin America, following the revival of what the president has described as a modern version of the Monroe Doctrine -- a US foreign policy position that seeks to cement Washington’s self-described sphere of influence in the region.

Petro denies ‘drug trafficking’ allegations

Later, Petro took to X again, rejecting claims linking Maduro or himself to drug trafficking.

Neither the Venezuelan head of state nor his wife had ever appeared in Colombian judicial files on “cocaine mafias,” the Colombian leader said, and emphasized that Colombia’s judiciary was independent and largely run by his opposition.

He also called Trump’s statements against him “slanderous” and asserted he had never appeared in any judicial files related to drug trafficking over the past 50 years, either.

Referring back to Trump’s comments, he called them an “illegitimate threat” and also questioned the accuracy of similarly controversial statements made by Rubio about Colombia.

 He, meanwhile, highlighted his administration’s own actions against cocaine trafficking, including the largest cocaine seizure in world history, halting coca cultivation growth, and implementing a 30,000-hectare voluntary crop substitution program.

‘Colombia free forever’

In such a context, the Colombian president noted, potential poorly-informed American military aggression against his country under the pretext of the drug fight could rather harm civilians or radicalize peasants.

Petro, meanwhile, called on Colombians to defend the presidency against any violent or illegitimate acts, asserting that the security forces had to prioritize the Colombian flag over foreign influence. He asserted that he had deep trust in the nation’s history, armed forces, and citizens, concluding, “Colombia free forever.”

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