bogota, colombia
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Amid increased U.S. military activity in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, Colombia’s president has insisted that the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuela is less about fighting drug trafficking and more about accessing the South American nation’s oil.
“(Oil) is at the heart of the problem,” Gustavo Petro told CNN in an exclusive interview, noting that Venezuela has what is believed to be the world’s largest oil reserves.
“So it’s a negotiation about oil. I think that’s[US President Donald]Trump’s logic. He’s not thinking about democracy in Venezuela, let alone drug trafficking,” he continued, adding that Venezuela is not considered a major drug producer and only a relatively small portion of the world’s drug trade passes through the country.
Petro has been at odds with Trump since he returned to the White House. Over the past year, Colombia’s leader has been harshly critical of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, support for Israel and military activities around Latin America.
On Tuesday, he likened the US’ actions to imperialism and accused it of trying to impose its will on neighboring countries. “The United States cannot be considered an empire, but we are above all a nation,” the president said.
In response to Petro’s comments, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the Trump administration is “resolute in its commitment to counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean and to protecting the American people from the venom of (Venezuela President Nicolas) Maduro.”
CNN has also reached out to the White House for comment.
Asked if he had a message for the American people, Petro said: “My message is to all members of the United States Special Forces. Your mission, as stated in your oath, is to fight against oppression. I have repeated that on the streets of America, and it has taken its toll on me as well.”
He appeared to be referring to the US State Department’s revocation of visas at the end of the United Nations General Assembly in September after he publicly called on US soldiers to disobey Mr Trump and “stop pointing guns at humanity.”
This is one of many actions the Trump administration has taken against Colombian leaders in recent months.
In October, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Petro of being “involved in the global illegal drug trade,” an allegation rejected by the Colombian leader.
The sanctions were imposed just days after President Trump claimed Petro was “doing nothing to stop” drug production in Colombia and said he would suspend all U.S. payments and subsidies to Colombia.
Petro defended his efforts to combat drug trafficking, telling CNN that the country’s government had seized more cocaine than any other country in history. “Thanks to that, I have been able to ensure that crop growth, which has stagnated in recent years, far outweighs the increase in seizures,” he said.
Asked why Trump didn’t approve, Petro said: “It’s because of pride. He thinks I’m a subversive thug, a terrorist, just because I was a member of M-19, a Colombian guerrilla movement that was active in the 1970s and 1980s.”
Petro also told CNN that he believed the US was comparing him to Maduro.
His comments came a day after the United States designated the drug-trafficking Cartel de los Soles, which President Maduro claims is led, as a foreign terrorist organization. Venezuela denies the claims, and experts say the term refers to allegedly corrupt government officials rather than organized crime groups.
Although Mr. Maduro has problems with democracy, Mr. Petro said he was less certain about the Venezuelan president’s ties to drug trafficking.
“The problem with Mr. Maduro is what they call democracy…the lack of democracy,” Petro told CNN, adding that “the Colombian investigation…does not show any connection between Colombian drug trafficking and Maduro.”
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Venezuela is not a cocaine producing country. According to UNODC, more than 2,500 tons of the 3,700 tons of cocaine produced worldwide come from Colombia, but Venezuela is not on the production map. “The majority of Colombian cocaine is trafficked north along the Pacific coast.”
Investigators with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration came to a similar conclusion, writing in their annual report released in March that 84 percent of the cocaine seized in the United States comes from Colombia.
Last weekend, the Colombian news program Noticias Caracol reported on alleged ties between Colombian government officials and dissidents from the now-defunct FARC rebel group. The report said senior military and intelligence officials shared classified information with insurgents, advising them on how to secretly obtain weapons and avoid military oversight.
Mr. Petro has denied the allegations, but on Tuesday he acknowledged to CNN that the relationship between officials and drug traffickers had been going on for years, even before he took office.
A State Department spokeswoman said she was aware of the recent reports and called on Petro and other Colombian institutions to “thoroughly investigate these allegations and take all appropriate action.”
Colombia has long been the US government’s most reliable ally in South America when it comes to security and defense. In 2022, the Biden administration designated Andean countries as “major non-NATO allies.”
Despite recent tensions between the leaders, relations between the United States and Colombia remain intact.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made it clear publicly that the administration’s problem lies with Petro, not the Colombian agency.
Rubio previously said: “Our relationships with the Colombian people, with the Colombian business community, with the majority of Colombia’s political community, and with its institutions, especially the defense establishment, are strong and lasting, and they will be strong and lasting long after this person is no longer president.”
