"I don't do business like you, I'm a socialist," Petro tells Trump

247 - Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded on Sunday (19) to harsh accusations made by US President Donald Trump, who called him a “drug trafficking leader”. The reaction took place in a series of posts on Petro’s social media, in which he rejected the allegations and accused Trump of being “rude and ignorant” regarding Colombia.

In the text, Trump stated that Petro "strongly encourages the mass production of narcotics" in various regions of Colombia and threatened to suspend the transfer of US funds earmarked for combating drugs. The US president also warned that if Bogotá does not immediately end illegal cultivation, Washington may act unilaterally, "and it will not be in a pleasant way."

Petro: "I was never a businessman, much less a drug trafficker."

In his response, Gustavo Petro rejected the accusations and emphasized that his political career is incompatible with interests linked to drug trafficking.

"Colombia has never been rude to the United States; on the contrary, it has always admired its culture. But you are rude and ignorant towards Colombia," the president wrote, addressing Trump directly.

The Colombian president also mocked the fact that the North American was unfamiliar with Latin American literature: “Read One hundred years of Solitude"Like his chargé d'affaires in Bogotá did, and he will certainly learn something about loneliness."

Petro reinforced his political and ideological stance: “I don’t do business like you. I am a socialist, I believe in helping, in the common good and in the common goods of humanity, the greatest of all: life, which is put at risk by your oil. If I am not a businessman, much less a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart.”

For the Colombian, drug trafficking is a direct result of the capitalist logic that prioritizes the pursuit of profit above life. “A mafioso is a human being who embodies the worst aspects of capitalism: greed. I am the opposite, a lover of life and, therefore, a millennial warrior for life. Greed pursues us, but life is more powerful,” he declared.

Diplomatic escalation and tensions in the region.

The exchange of accusations has heightened diplomatic tensions between Bogotá and Washington. Trump did not specify which cooperation programs will be suspended or the amounts involved. Nor did he explain how the United States could intervene in Colombian territory.

The US government's offensive is part of a broader context of pressure on Latin American countries. Recently, Trump ordered the deployment of more than 10 troops to the Caribbean, near the Venezuelan coast, under the pretext of combating "narcoterrorism." Furthermore, he offered a reward of up to $50 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The US president also confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations to overthrow Maduro, who in turn announced the full activation of the national defense plan in the face of what he called "direct threats" from the United States.