Politics
NEW: Trump Drops The Hammer On Colombia’s Leftist President, Cancels All Subsidies
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his administration will be taking action against Gustavo Petro, the pro-Maduro leftist president of Colombia who has frequently encouraged illegal aliens in the United States and called for criminal proceedings against President Trump.
Petro, a self-described socialist and former member of the communist M-19 guerrilla group, has long been an advocate of increasing his nation’s relationship with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime. He has repeatedly called on the United States to end all sanctions against Venezuela, echoed the Maduro regime’s rhetoric and crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the country, and has “warned” the United States that military action against Venezuela would be the “biggest mistake.”
While speaking at the UN General Assembly last month, Petro erupted into a fiery tirade in which he denounced the U.S. as an “imperialist” state and called for criminal proceedings against President Donald Trump. He went on to encourage civil unrest and rebellion, calling on people of the world to rise up against a “global oligarchy.”
Petro speaks at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2025
On Sunday morning, President Trump accused Petro of aiding Venezuela’s drug-trafficking operations to the United States and took sweeping action against his government.
“President Gustavo Petro, of Columbia, is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Columbia (sic),” the president posted on Truth Social. “It has become the biggest business in Columbia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America,” he added.
“AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLUMBIA. The purpose of this drug production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc,” President Trump declared.
Pointing to Petro’s low approval ratings, which have hovered in the high 20’s, Trump described his Colombian counterpart as a “low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America.”
He went on to warn Petro that his government must “close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”
Petro’s son, Nicolás Petro Burgos, admitted in August 2023 to receiving illegal funds from drug traffickers and other criminals during the 2022 campaign, allegedly in exchange for promises of peace negotiations with armed groups. Prosecutors charged him with money laundering, claiming some funds were funneled into the campaign while Nicolás pocketed others
Nicolás claimed Petro was unaware of the funds, and Petro fired him from his advisory role. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.
