Trump called Colombian President Gustravo Petro a “drug leader” in a social media post earlier on Sunday.
Key Facts
In a statement on social media posted on Sunday, Hegseth said the U.S. had targeted another boat on Friday associated with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional—a Colombian left-wing militant group considered a terrorist organization both by the United States and the South American nation.
Hegseth claimed the boat was traveling on a “known narco-trafficking route” and carrying large quantities of drugs.
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump accused Petro of “strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields,” claiming without offering further evidence drug production was the “biggest business” in the South American country.
The U.S. president said he would cut off subsidies to Colombia, as well as “any other form of payment” to the nation—although he did not specify exactly which payments he was referring to.
Trump also attacked Petro as an “unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America.”Key Background
Since September, the Trump administration has begun a campaign targeting and striking boats in the Caribbean it claims are being used by drug dealers to smuggle narcotics from South America.
