Colombia’s Petro promises to defend homeland amid Trump threats

As threats are made against him and his government by the United States, Colombian President Gustavo Petro declares that he would “take up arms” for his country if necessary.

Petro, a former leftist fighter, claimed that any violent US intervention in Colombia, like the one carried out over the weekend in Venezuela, would elicit a response.

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Petro vowed to avoid touching a weapon once more. But I’ll resurrect my weapons in defense of my country.

Petro has come under direct criticism of US President Donald Trump, who has threatened Colombia with armed strikes if the country doesn’t stop drug trafficking.

Trump and the leaders have frequently exchanged insults, but in recent days, their threats have gotten more hostile.

After the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, an act that is widely disregarded by international law scholars, Petro should “watch his a**,” the US president said over the weekend. Trump said a similar operation against Petro’s government “sounds good to me” during a press conference on Sunday.

“Colombia is very sick, and it’s also run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments were described as “an undue interference in the country’s internal affairs, against the standards of international law,” according to Colombia’s ministry of foreign affairs.

Trump has accused Petro of facilitating the flow of drugs to the US, a charge that Petro denies. Petro claims that Petro has worked to combat drug production while rejecting the militarized policy of the drug war.