Tag: colombia

Colombian president vows to ‘take up arms’ if US attacks

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has vowed to “take up arms” in the event of a US attack.

His statement followed multiple threats from President Donald Trump in the wake of Saturday’s US attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its leader, Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the US president accused Petro of orchestrating the cocaine trade and hinted that he could soon also be removed. When asked if the US would launch a military operation against Colombia, Trump replied: “sounds good to me.”

In an X post on Monday, Petro promised to resist.

“Although I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity. I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland I will reluctantly take up arms again,” he said.

Keep reading

‘Sounds Good to Me’: Trump Signals Possible Military Operation Against Colombia’s Marxist Leader — Months After Gustavo Petro Mocked U.S. and Dared Arrest: ‘Try and See If You Can!’

President Donald Trump delivered a blunt and unmistakable warning on Sunday to Colombia’s far-left president Gustavo Petro, openly signaling that a U.S. military operation is not off the table.

Back in November, Colombian President Gustavo Petro dared the U.S. to arrest him, claiming that his people would rise up in his defense.

Petro, a former left-wing terrorist who is presiding over Colombia’s enormous drug trade, was a close ally of Maduro and has been left devastated by his removal.

“And so I have to tell Mr. Marco Rubio, brother, if you’re going to put me in prison, try and see if you can. If you want to put me in the orange jumpsuit, try it. But this people will not kneel before anyone. No Colombian is guilty of what happened to your grandfather or your father in Cuba.

Do not threaten us, for there is a jaguar about to awaken. Two centuries of going from war to war have taught us indigenous shrewdness. If the people freely wish to return to paramilitary rule, we have no choice but to obey. If they want to talk, let them come and speak as equals.

Tell the president of the Inter-American Development Bank that his money will not enter into Colombia’s elections. The people of Colombia are not for sale.”

Keep reading

Trump Doubles Down, Says Gustavo Petro “Does Have to Watch His Ass” After Threatening to Take Action Against Cocaine Factories

President Trump on Saturday doubled down on past threats to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying that he should “watch his ass” after Trump ordered strikes inside Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, signaling possible actions against Colombia next.

The US military executed strikes and a ground invasion to capture Maduro and his wife on Saturday at approximately 2 am local time, and they were taken prisoner on board the USS Iwo Jima. Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, the Gateway Pundit reported.

As The Gateway Pundit reported last month, Trump told reporters that Petro needs to “watch his ass” and close the cocaine factories, which “we know where they are,” he said, while making an announcement on shipbuilding at Mar-a-Lago.

WATCH:

Trump: He has to watch, because, you know, he’s got drug factories. They make cocaine in Colombia, and he’s no friend of the United States. He’s very bad, very bad guy, and he’s got to watch his ass, because he makes cocaine and they send it into the United States of America from Colombia. We love the Colombian people. I love the Colombian people. They’re great people, energetic, smart, great, but their new leader is a troublemaker, and he better watch it. They better close up those cocaine factories. They have at least three major cocaine factories. We know where they are. He better close them up fast.

Keep reading

United States Designates the Gulf Clan as a Terrorist Organization: A Forceful Shift in the War on Drugs

The United States Government announced the decision to officially designate the Clan del Golfo as a foreign terrorist organization, a measure that raises the level of confrontation against drug trafficking in Hispanic America.

The announcement, made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marks a profound shift in U.S. strategy by equating this criminal group with international terrorist organizations.

The Gulf Clan, considered the most powerful illegal armed group in Colombia, has for years been identified as responsible for large-scale drug trafficking to North America, as well as for systematic acts of violence that have affected entire communities.

This designation opens the door to far more severe legal, financial, and operational actions by Washington.

Keep reading

Colombia says 17 minors rescued from Jewish cult Lev Tahor amid abuse allegations

Colombian authorities said Sunday they had rescued 17 minors from Lev Tahor, an extremist ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect under investigation for alleged child sex abuse.

“We have rescued 17 boys, girls and teens,” the country’s immigration service said on X, posting pictures of some of the children with their faces blurred or shielded from view.

Five of the minors rescued were identified as missing persons whom Interpol had issued “yellow notices” to find, authorities said.

Founded in Jerusalem in the 1980s, Lev Tahor — literally, “pure heart” in Hebrew — has been dogged by allegations of child abuse for years, and Israel and others have called it a cult. Its leader is in prison for kidnapping children.

A group called Lev Tahor Survivors has estimated the sect’s membership at several hundred people and says it is led by a core cohort, with the rest being held mostly against their will.

The group adheres to an extreme, idiosyncratic interpretation of Judaism and kosher dietary laws that largely shields members from the outside world.

Women and girls above the age of 3 are required to dress in black robes that completely cover their bodies, leading some to call the group the “Jewish Taliban.” The men spend most of their days in prayer and studying specific portions of the Torah.

Keep reading

Trump Suggests Airstrikes On Cartels In Mexico, Colombia: ‘Okay With Me’

President Donald Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office on Monday that potential military strikes in Mexico to disrupt the drug trade would be “okay with me”.

He expressed rare openness to direct Pentagon action inside America’s neighbor to the immediate south, at a moment of ongoing deadly drone strikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela. This is sure to turn US-Mexico relations in a more negative direction, but Trump doesn’t seem overly concerned with this as he ramps up the pressure, also on Colombia.

He said he’d be willing to do this to prevent drugs from entering the United States, and further he’d be proud to “knock out” cocaine factories in Colombia.

On Colombia, where the president, his family and top officials have recently been hit with US sanctions, Trump said as follows:

“Colombia has cocaine factories where they make cocaine. Would I knock out those factories? I would be proud to do it personally. I didn’t say I’m doing it, but I would be proud to do it because we’re going to save millions of lives by doing it.”

This renewed war on drugs rhetoric has been met with immense controversy, including among some US Congress members who demand a Congressional vote before war is declared on Venezuela or any other sovereign Latin American country.

But the administration has also been utilizing ‘terrorism’ labels to justify strikes, which up to now has included targeting over twenty alleged drug boats and killing some 80 people.

Keep reading

Colombian President Orders Halt to Intelligence Sharing With US Over Drug Boat Strikes

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Nov. 11 that his nation’s security forces will stop intelligence sharing with the United States in response to U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean.

Petro stated on X that he had instructed the Colombian public security forces at all levels to suspend cooperation with U.S. agencies until the U.S. military ceases its strikes on vessels in the Caribbean.

“Such a measure will be maintained as long as the missile attack on boats in the Caribbean persists. The fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people,” he stated.

The White House has not publicly commented on Petro’s announcement. The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Since September, according to posts by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other media reports, the U.S. military has carried out at least 19 strikes against vessels alleged to be transporting illegal drugs to the United States, actions that have drawn condemnation from Venezuela and Colombia. At least 76 suspected drug traffickers have been killed in these strikes, according to reports.

Tensions rose between the United States and Colombia after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Petro of encouraging illegal drug production in Colombia, which Petro and the Colombian government have strongly denied.

Keep reading

The Sordid History Of US “Aid” To Colombia

President Donald Trump is rattling his saber against Colombian President Gustavo Petro to punish him for accusing the US government of murdering Venezuelan fishermen. Trump has boasted of the killings by the US military but claims all the targets were drug smugglers. He has threatened to suspend all US government handouts for the Colombian government. Trump warned Petro that he “better close up” cocaine production “or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”

Tapping his own psychiatric expertise, Trump proclaimed that Colombia has “the worst president they’ve ever had – a lunatic with serious mental problems.” Is anyone in the Trump White House aware of the long history of U.S. failure in that part of the world? In 1989, President George H.W. Bush warned Colombian drug dealers that they were “no match for an angry America.” But Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine producer despite billions of dollars of US government anti-drug aid to the Colombian government.

The Bill Clinton administration made Colombia its top target in its international war on drugs. Clinton drug warriors deluged the Colombian government with U.S. tax dollars as they literally deluged Colombia with toxic spray. The New York Times reported that U.S.-financed planes repeatedly sprayed pesticides onto schoolchildren, making many of them ill. Colombian environmental minister Juan Mayr publicly declared last year that the crop spraying program has been a failure and warned, “We can’t permanently fumigate the country.”

Keep reading

“Take Out Trump”: Colombian President Petro Makes Shocking Threat Against President Trump in Univision Interview

Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened to “take out” President Donald Trump in an lengthy interview with Univision on Monday a day after Trump called Petro “an illegal drug leader.”

Relations between Colombia and the United States are at a nadir after the U.S. destroyed a suspected drug running boat in the Caribbean last month, killing a Colombian national. Petro said the man was a fisherman. A report by El Pais says the man had a criminal record involving the theft of hundreds of weapons from a police station in 2015.

Colombia recalled its ambassador to the U.S. on Monday for consultations.

Last month, the State Department revoked Petro’s visa during the U.N. General Assembly after he spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City and called on U.S. troops to disobey orders by Trump.

Speaking with Univision President Daniel Coronell at the end of the interview at Casa de Nariño in Bogota, Petro said if Trump won’t change, the solution is to “take out Trump,” loudly snapping his fingers.

Petro: “Humanity has a first offramp, and it is to change Trump in various ways. The easiest way may be through Trump himself–the easiest. If not, take out Trump.”

PRIMERA SALIDA Y ES CAMBIAR A TRUMP DE DIVERSAS MANERAS. PUEDE SER POR EL MISMO TRUMP, LA MáS FáCIL, SI NO SACA LA TRUMP.” (Note: Both X and Google translate the comment as “take out Trump.” The MRC translation is “get rid of Trump.”

Keep reading

Report: At Least One US Strike on Boat in The Caribbean Targeted Colombians

At least one of the US military strikes on boats in the Caribbean over the past month and a half targeted Colombian nationals, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing two people briefed by the Pentagon.

The report said that a US strike in the region on September 19 targeted a boat that left Colombia. In a statement on the bombing, which marked the third on a vessel in the region, Trump claimed without evidence that the boat was carrying drugs and that it killed three “narcoterrorists.” He said the attack was carried out in US Southern Command’s area of responsibility, which includes the Caribbean and most of South America.

Notably, the September 19 strike was the only time Trump announced the bombing of a boat in the region and didn’t mention Venezuela. The CNN report said the boat was “suspected of carrying Colombians affiliated with Colombian terrorist organizations,” but the Pentagon was “unable to determine the individual identities of each person on the boats before they struck them.”

The lack of identification suggests that the US War Department doesn’t have the evidence to back up its claims about who it is targeting in the Caribbean. According to a report from The Associated Press, the Pentagon hasn’t provided Congress with any hard evidence to support its allegations about the vessels it has been bombing.

After the September 19 strike, Colombian President Gustavo Petro suggested that the strike may have targeted Colombians. “If the boat was sunk in the Dominican Republic, then it is possible that they were Colombians. This means that officials from the US and the Dominican Republic would be guilty of the murder of Colombian citizens,” he said.

Keep reading