What happens if aid is taken away? Nothing, Petro said to reporters on Thursday, adding that American workers and US agencies frequently received aid.
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However, he continued, a halt in military cooperation would be significant.
Petro remarked that “we would now have some issues with military aid,” adding that the loss of US helicopters would be the most significant impact.
Trump, the president of the United States, threatened over the weekend to impose tariffs on Colombia and announced on Wednesday that all funding for the nation had been suspended.
Colombia was once one of the Western Hemisphere’s largest recipients of US aid, but USAID, the government’s humanitarian assistance arm, suddenly shut down this year. The military cooperation has continued.
Some US military personnel are still in Colombia and the two countries continue to share intelligence, even though the Trump administration has already “decertified” Colombia’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.
Petro has protested the US military’s Caribbean strike, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and heightened tensions there. The actions have been condemned by a number of legal experts and human rights advocates.
Petro’s government claims that Trump’s use of the terms “bad guy” and “illegal drug leader” is offensive.
Petro has called off the ambassador of his country’s to Washington, DC, but he did manage to meet with the US’s ambassador in Bogota late on Sunday.
Trump said on Wednesday that he may take serious action against Colombia, adding that he has not yet announced any additional tariffs on top of the 10-percent rate currently in place for the country.
Petro claimed that Trump is unlikely to impose tariffs on Colombia’s oil and coal exports, which account for 60% of its US exports, while reducing the impact of tariffs on other sectors could be done by looking for alternative markets.
An increase in tariffs would change a well-known US policy position that free trade can boost legitimate exports over drug trafficking, and analysts predict that increasing duties will eventually lead to increased drug trafficking.
Petro reported that it has made record-sealed 2,800 metric tonnes of cocaine in three years, partly as a result of increased efforts to locate Pacific ports where container ships are used for smuggling. Despite his government’s struggle to control major centers for rebel and criminal activity.
