Washington, DC [US], October 19 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an "illegal drug leader" and of actively encouraging massive drug production across Colombia.
He announced that his administration is cutting off all subsidies to the Latin American country.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "It has become the biggest business in Columbia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America." He added that, "As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment, or subsidies, will no longer be made to Columbia."
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115400895783278217
Highlighting the impact of the drug production, Trump said its main goal is "the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc." He described Petro as a "low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America," warning that immediate action is required.
Trump cautioned, "Petro better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely."
Linking his accusations to concrete action, the president confirmed a recent US military operation targeting a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean, describing it as a strike against narcoterrorists. "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking transit route," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
He said US intelligence confirmed the vessel was carrying fentanyl and other narcotics, and that the strike on Thursday aimed to disrupt a major drug trafficking route. Two crew members on the vessel were killed, while two others survived and were airlifted by US forces in a helicopter rescue operation to a nearby US Navy warship. The US military held the survivors on board at least until Friday evening, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump said the two surviving "narcoterrorists" will be sent to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, as per Al Jazeera. The press office for Ecuador's government said it was not aware of the plans for repatriation, while there was no immediate comment from Colombian authorities.
President Trump has justified these strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by former President George W. Bush during the war on terror following the September 11 attacks. This includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and use lethal force against their leadership, treating suspected traffickers as enemy soldiers in a traditional war, Al Jazeera reported.
Since September, at least six vessels, most of them speedboats, have been targeted by US strikes in the Caribbean, with some allegedly originating from Venezuela. While Washington claims the campaign is dealing a decisive blow to drug trafficking, it has provided no evidence that those killed were drug smugglers.
With Trump's confirmation of the death toll on Truth Social, US military actions against vessels in the region have killed at least 29 people.
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