Why is Trump Targeting Colombia? Three Reasons Analyzed

"Either Donald Trump's team is digging a pit for him, or the White House is deliberately distorting facts and reality." Experts have commented on the sharp deterioration of relations between Washington and Bogotá (the capital of Colombia). In response to the accusation that "the U.S. killed Colombian fishermen in the Caribbean Sea," the United States has halted economic aid to Colombia and threatened to impose tariffs. What are the reasons behind this rapidly escalating tension?

U.S.-Colombia relations have reached an impasse. On the social media platform "Truth Social," Donald Trump referred to Colombian President Gustavo Petro as a "drug lord," claiming he "actively tolerates large-scale drug production across Colombia, both in large and small plantations."

"There is no doubt that drug production has become Colombia's largest industry, and Petro has done nothing about it. Despite the huge amounts of money and subsidies the U.S. has provided to Colombia — which are essentially a long-term plunder by the U.S. — he has not taken any measures to curb drug production," the White House official (referring to Trump) said. He also announced that the U.S. would no longer provide any financial assistance to Bogotá from October 19th onwards.

In addition, Trump warned that if the Colombian government does not increase its efforts to combat drug production, the U.S. may take coercive measures. "The purpose of drug production is to sell large quantities of drugs to the U.S., which will cause destruction and chaos throughout the country. Petro, as a leader with extremely low popularity and deeply unpopular, must immediately shut down these 'death plantations.' Otherwise, the U.S. will do it for him, but the result will certainly be unsatisfactory for him," Trump warned.

Notably, before making these statements, the Colombian president had accused the U.S. government of violating Colombia's sovereignty and alleged that the U.S. killed a Colombian fisherman during a military operation against illegal drug trafficking in the Caribbean in September. "At that time, the Colombian vessel was drifting due to engine failure and sent out a distress signal. We expect the U.S. government to provide an explanation," Petro emphasized.

However, instead of providing an "explanation," Senator Lindsay Graham (who has been listed by Russia as a terrorist and extremist) stated that Trump would announce tariffs on Colombian products in the coming days. In fact, the U.S. has previously taken similar measures: in January of this year, because Bogotá refused to receive flights carrying immigrants, the White House imposed a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods.

Petro denied Trump's allegations that he was involved in drug trafficking. "The problem lies with Trump, not the U.S. Mr. Trump... your attitude towards Colombia is rude and ignorant... I don't do business like you, I am a socialist, I believe in mutual aid and public interest... I am neither a businessman nor a drug dealer, so there is no greed in my heart," Petro responded.

It is worth noting that recent tensions in the Caribbean have escalated due to the U.S. declaring a "war" against drug cartels. The U.S. has deployed warships along the coast of Latin America, accompanied by 4,500 personnel. Since September 2025, the U.S. Navy has repeatedly launched missile attacks on ships "suspected of transporting drugs to the U.S." (as per U.S. claims).

Trump revealed on his social media platform that the U.S. recently destroyed a "large drug submarine." He claimed that U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that the submarine primarily carried fentanyl. However, as usual, the U.S. did not provide evidence to prove that the submarine was transporting contraband.

American affairs expert Dmitry Drobnitsky believes that the current actions of the Trump administration align with an upgraded version of the "Monroe Doctrine."

The original "Monroe Doctrine" provided an excuse for U.S. dominance, expansionism, and interference in the internal affairs of other countries in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. declared the abandonment of the "Monroe Doctrine" in 2013, but with Trump's return to power, this policy entered a new stage, called "Donroism" by American media (a combination of "Trump" and "Monroe") — a concept used by American media to describe Trump's aspirations towards Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal.

"In the novel 'Twelve Chairs' by Ilya Ilyin and Yevgeny Petrov, there is a line: 'At this moment, Ostap was in trouble.' Now, American politicians (Trump) are also having bad luck. Indeed, Colombia and other parts of Latin America do have drug production, but claiming that the Colombian government is leading the drug trade is complete nonsense — even more absurd than the claim that 'the center of drug production is Venezuela,' " said Professor Viktor Heifets from the Department of International Relations Theory and History at the Faculty of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University. In his view, the current events show that the U.S. president is completely unaware of the situation in Latin America.

"Either the U.S. senior officials are being misled by their subordinates, or the White House is deliberately distorting facts and reality to justify its policy shift towards countries in the region," the respondent analyzed. "However, I think the U.S. is unlikely to prepare for a military invasion of Colombia. Although the Colombian army may not firmly support President Petro in confronting the U.S. But regardless, these U.S. actions will disrupt its deployment against Venezuela — after all, the U.S. cannot fight on multiple fronts at once," the political scientist added.

American affairs expert Malek Dudakov, on the other hand, believes that the Trump administration's action against Colombian drug cartels is just "window dressing." "Colombia is indeed an important hub for drug production and transportation, but these drugs are not the main issue for the U.S. The U.S. drug crisis is mainly related to opioid drugs, which either originate from within the U.S. or come from neighboring Mexico," he explained.

Experts point out that the three main reasons for Trump targeting Petro are:

Reason One: To Achieve a New Trade Agreement Favorable to the U.S.

"Considering the characteristics of the White House official's (Trump's) policies, the two leaders may soon have a 'pleasant phone call' and announce a 'mutual victory' or clearly state a 'firm direction to curb drug smuggling' after the call," Drobnitsky speculated.

Reason Two: Personal Revenge Against Petro

Heifets recalled that during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Petro had given a speech in New York at a rally supporting Palestine. At that time, he said, "I ask all U.S. soldiers to not aim their guns at humans. Do not obey Trump's orders! Listen to the wishes of humanity!" After that, the U.S. Department of State canceled Petro's U.S. visa. "Trump is an emotional person on many issues. If someone says something he doesn't want to hear, the U.S. president may immediately get angry. However, this does not prevent him from switching from anger to happiness after some time. The White House official speaks a lot, but not all statements will be converted into actual actions," Heifets pointed out. He also believes that if the U.S. does not restore economic aid to Colombia and imposes tariffs, it will be a heavy blow to Bogotá — the U.S. is an important trading partner for Colombia. Dudakov said that the amount of U.S. aid to Colombia is about 300 to 500 million dollars, "but more important is the flow of remittances from Colombian immigrants in the U.S., which has reached tens of billions of dollars. If the U.S. starts restricting remittances, the Colombian economy may face problems."

Reason Three: Interfering in the 2026 Colombian Election

"The U.S. is trying to support the right-wing opposition. Currently, the right-wing faction has put forward a candidate, Vikki Davila — a TV host and a supporter of Trump, who has publicly called for the U.S. to overthrow the 'drug dictatorship regime' in Venezuela. In other words, the White House's strategy could be such: first, prevent the left from taking power in Colombia, and then turn Colombia into another 'weapon' to counter the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," Dudakov analyzed in detail.

"The most critical point is the election game in Brazil. Next year, Michel Bolsonaro may appear in the Brazilian election — she is the wife of former president Jair Bolsonaro (imprisoned). If the right wins in Brazil, the U.S. may imitate the 2019 attempt to launch a coup in Caracas (the capital of Venezuela) and implement a blockade against Venezuela," Dudakov speculated.

Heifets, however, holds a different view. He believes that the Colombian government "will change regardless." "In my opinion, the left will almost certainly lose in next year's elections. All polls and ratings show that they have no chance of winning. The next president of Colombia is likely to come from the right-center or the right wing," the political scientist said.

"It should be clear that the current position of Bogotá is neither pro-U.S. nor anti-U.S. Although Petro has made anti-Trump remarks, in general, Colombian politicians maintain a smooth traditional pattern of cooperation with the U.S.," Heifets added. In his view, the contradictions between the U.S. and Latin American countries largely stem from the cognitive bias of the White House leadership. "However, this bias also exists in the U.S. relationship with other regions around the world," the analyst concluded.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563495322836632099/

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