After Capturing Venezuela’s President, Trump Is Now Threatening Colombia And Said Cuba Looks “Ready To Fall”
"Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
After leading an unprecedented military operation to capture Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump has now threatened Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro and said Cuba looks “ready to fall”.
Trump’s comments come after several leftist Latin American leaders, most notably Petro, voiced their opposition to the US’ illegal military intervention, the attempt to force regime change and seizing control of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Trump has accused Petro of allowing cocaine drug cartels to flourish, citing record levels of cocaine production and Petro’s relationship with Maduro’s regime.
Petro, who was democratically elected in 2022 with the highest number of votes in Colombia’s history, has rejected the allegations and denied involvement in drug trafficking.
While Petro restored diplomatic ties with Venezuela and recognized Maduro’s regime, the move was also intended to tackle armed group violence across the border, boost economic activity between the countries and manage the migration process of Venezuelans in Colombia.
Colombia is home to about 2.9 million Venezuelans who have escaped to Colombia amid Venezuela’s economic collapse in the past years.
"Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Jan. 5.
When asked if he would consider a military operation in Colombia, Trump said, “It sounds good.”
Meanwhile, Trump also said that Cuba looks “ready to fall”, because “it gets all its income from Venezuelan oil”.
Cuba, a longtime ally of Venezuela, has been severely impacted by US sanctions that have restricted its ability to trade internationally.
Venezuela has provided Cuba tons of oil barrels per year in exchange for medical, education and security programs, according to Bloomberg Linea.
Trump said that following the US intervention in Venezuela, Cuba would no longer receive oil supplies and thus “fall”.
However, Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice-president and now the interim president, has remained in power.
It remains unclear whether Rodriguez will continue close relations with Cuba, but it has shown no public signs of negotiating with the Trump administration.
Cherry Mohamed
Kassy Cho
Sofia Hou
