Thursday | 27th November 2025
Bogotá, Colombia — As United States military operations intensify across the Caribbean and Pacific regions, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused the administration of Donald Trump of using its pressure campaign against Venezuela as a pretext to pursue the South American nation’s vast oil wealth rather than to combat drug trafficking.
“Oil is at the heart of the matter,” Petro told CNN in an exclusive interview. He underscored that Venezuela possesses what are widely considered the largest proven oil reserves in the world. “So, this is really a negotiation about oil. I believe that is Trump’s logic. He is not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone narco-trafficking,” Petro said.
The Colombian president further rejected Washington’s claims that Venezuela plays a pivotal role in the global drug trade. He argued that Venezuela is not considered a major drug-producing country and that only a relatively small share of the world’s narcotics flows through its territory.
Growing Rift With Washington
Petro’s remarks reflect the widening rift between Bogotá and Washington since Trump’s return to the White House. Over the past year, the leftist Colombian leader has sharply criticized U.S. immigration policies, the administration’s military posture in Latin America, and its unwavering support for Israel.
On Tuesday, Petro went further, accusing the United States of behaving like an empire seeking to impose its will on neighboring nations. “The United States cannot be considered an empire, but one nation among others,” he said.
Responding to Petr o’s comments, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the Trump administration remains “firm in its counter-drug operations in the Caribbean and its commitment to protecting Americans from the deadly poison of the Nicolás Maduro regime.”
Visa Revocation and Sanctions
When asked if he had a message for the American public, Petro said: “My message is the one they give to all members of the United States special forces: Your function, as they say in the oaths, is to fight against oppression.” He added that he had repeated this message during earlier visits to the United States, “and it cost me.”
Petro appeared to be referring to the U.S. State Department’s decision to revoke his visa following the United Nations General Assembly in September, after he publicly urged American soldiers to disobey Trump and “not to point their rifles at humanity.”
That action was followed by even more severe measures. In October, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Petro, accusing him of playing a “role in the global illicit drug trade,” allegations he has forcefully rejected. The sanctions came just days after Trump announced he would halt all U.S. payments and subsidies to Colombia, claiming that Petro “does nothing to stop” drug production.
Petro defended his administration’s record, insisting that Colombia has seized more cocaine under his presidency than at any other point in the country’s history. “So much so that, in recent years, I have ensured that the growth in crops, which is stagnating, is far surpassed by the growth in seizures,” he said.
When asked why Trump has not acknowledged these results, Petro replied bluntly: “Because of pride. Because he thinks I’m a subversive thug, a terrorist, and things like that, simply because I was a member of M-19,” referring to the former Colombian guerrilla movement active in the 1970s and 1980s.
Petro also suggested that Washington is increasingly comparing him to Maduro, a comparison he strongly rejects.
Venezuela, Cartels, and Terror Labels
Petro’s comments come amid heightened U.S. pressure on Caracas. A day earlier, Washington designated the Cartel de los Soles — an alleged drug trafficking network it claims is led by Maduro — as a foreign terrorist organization. The Venezuelan government has denied the allegations, and many experts argue the term refers more broadly to allegedly corrupt officials rather than to a structured criminal cartel.
While Petro acknowledged that Venezuela faces a serious democratic deficit under Maduro, he expressed skepticism about sweeping claims of state-led drug trafficking. “The problem of Maduro is called democracy — the lack of democracy,” Petro said. “But no Colombian investigation has shown us a relationship between Colombian drug trafficking and Maduro.”
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Venezuela is not a cocaine-producing country. Of the roughly 3,700 metric tons of coca produced globally each year, more than 2,500 tons originate in Colombia. Venezuela does not appear on production maps, and the UNODC notes that “the majority of Colombian cocaine is being trafficked north along the Pacific coast.”
Findings from the Drug Enforcement Administration align with this assessment. In its annual report published in March, the DEA concluded that 84% of the cocaine seized in the United States originated in Colombia.
Corruption Allegations at Home
The diplomatic dispute comes as Petro also faces mounting pressure domestically. Over the weekend, Colombian television program Noticias Caracol reported alleged links between senior Colombian officials and dissidents from the now-defunct FARC guerrilla group. According to the report, high-ranking military and intelligence officers allegedly shared sensitive information with armed groups, advising them on how to secretly acquire weapons and evade military operations.
Petro has denied the accusations but conceded in his CNN interview that ties between state officials and drug traffickers have existed for years — long before he took office.
A State Department spokesperson said Washington is aware of the reports and urged Colombian authorities “to thoroughly investigate these allegations and take all appropriate actions.”
Strategic Alliance Under Strain
Despite the frictions at the presidential level, Colombia remains one of Washington’s closest security partners in Latin America. Under the Biden administration, Colombia was designated in 2022 as a “major non-NATO ally,” a status reflecting its long-standing cooperation on defense, counterterrorism, and counternarcotics operations.
U.S. officials insist that the broader relationship remains solid despite the personal clash between Trump and Petro. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated publicly that Washington’s grievances are directed at Petro personally, not at Colombia’s institutions.
“Our relationships with the people of Colombia, the economic sector of Colombia, the majority of people in politics in Colombia, and their institutions — in particular their defense institutions — are strong and enduring,” Rubio said previously. “They’re going to remain strong long after this individual is no longer the president there.”
Even so, Petro’s latest accusations signal that tensions between two of the Western Hemisphere’s key governments are likely to persist, with Venezuela’s future, drug policy, and the geopolitics of oil now tightly intertwined in a growing diplomatic confrontation.