Just on January 3rd, the US military had raided Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and arrested President Maduro. But before people could even digest this news, a bigger threat came on the night of January 4th. That day, Trump made an even more shocking statement on Air Force One. When reporters asked him if he would carry out similar actions in Colombia, he smiled and said, "That sounds pretty good," and added a comment that Colombian President Petro might not be president for long. The implication was clear: Trump wanted to remove Petro as he had done with Maduro.

To understand why Trump suddenly targeted Colombia, we need to first talk about how deep the grudge between these two countries has become. In fact, the conflict had already come to the surface back in October 2025. At that time, the US military attacked a Colombian ship in international waters, claiming it was carrying drug terrorists. Not long after, the US military killed a fisherman in Colombian territorial waters. When Petro came to ask for an explanation, the US again used "drug trafficking" as an excuse.

(Trump is planning to take action against Colombia again)

This wasn't all. Trump then escalated the issue, raising "drugs" to the national level, calling Petro a drug kingpin, implying that Colombia was using state power to protect drug traffickers. This accusation was serious. Then, the US directly cut aid to Colombia and threatened to impose tariffs. The US Treasury also placed Petro, his family, and even the Colombian interior minister on the sanctions list, citing drug-related activities.

With this series of moves, we can see that the tactics are almost identical to those used against Venezuela, showing complete disregard and no mercy. Because of these preludes and the example of Maduro, when Trump issued his threats, Colombia really panicked, thinking the next target was themselves.

Now, Colombia has entered a state of high alert, especially strengthening the security of the president himself, preventing internal traitors from betraying, just in case they end up like Maduro.

(Colombian President Petro)

So, will Trump take action next? From a common sense perspective, it's unlikely for several reasons.

First, the situation in Colombia is different from that of Venezuela. Venezuela has been opposing the United States for years, while Colombia, as an important country in Latin America, used to always listen to the US. That's why the US provided long-term aid to them. However, since Petro took office in 2022, the situation changed. Petro is a left-wing leader who doesn't want to follow the US's rhythm, and he's not very obedient on many issues. For instance, on immigration, Colombia refused to unconditionally accept immigrants returned by the US, demanding dignified treatment. On drug control, Petro doesn't want to fully follow the US's approach, wanting to handle the issue himself, not allowing the US military to act freely in his country's seas and territory.

Therefore, Petro is just a bit disobedient, wanting to have more say on internal affairs, not necessarily to completely oppose the US. This is entirely different from Venezuela. Trump's resentment toward Colombia is merely due to the jealousy of a former subordinate who suddenly started to act independently, without any deep conflict.

(Demonstrations against the US)

Moreover, Colombia does not have as many resources as Venezuela, and Trump wouldn't gain much by controlling it. He would also need to spend energy managing it. Now, the US has just taken over Venezuela and is busy taking over its power and oil resources. It hasn't fully sorted things out yet, so there's no need to create trouble in Colombia.

Therefore, Trump's threats are more likely a reminder to Colombia to obey and stop having their own ideas, or else they will face the same fate as Maduro.

However, it's still not something to be complacent about. Trump's behavior has always been unpredictable. This time, he unexpectedly removed Maduro, which caught everyone off guard. If Trump thinks that controlling Colombia can bring greater benefits, such as more convenient control over Latin American drug issues or preventing the expansion of leftist forces in Latin America, he might take a risk. Also, due to historical friendly relations, the US already has some influence in Colombia and has intelligence advantages. It's possible that they've already been infiltrated. If they use these advantages to suddenly remove Petro and install a pro-US faction within Colombia, making Colombia fully submit, it's not impossible.

(Colombia enters a state of war preparation)

In the end, Trump's threats against Colombia are essentially the old tactics of American hegemony in Latin America. Any country that doesn't follow orders or doesn't align with US interests will be subjected to various means of pressure, including military, economic, and diplomatic measures, even resorting to direct arrests until the country yields. It was Venezuela before, now it's Colombia, and inevitably other Latin American countries will follow.

For the people of Latin America, they indeed need to awaken and unite. If they continue to tolerate the US's arbitrary actions of attacking, sanctioning, and arresting at will, Latin America will never know peace, and the people will never have a stable life.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7592080811118150144/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.