United States President Donald Trump has unleashed a series of stark threats against his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, following the recent abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces. In a dramatic address to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump suggested that the Colombian government, too, may face dire consequences.
“Venezuela is very sick. Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you,” Trump declared.
When pressed on whether he was alluding to a potential U.S. operation in Colombia, Trump responded, “Sounds good to me.”
The President also expressed confidence that Cuba’s government is on the brink of collapse, stating, “Cuba is ready to fall. Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall. I don’t know how they, if they, can hold that, but Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil.”
“They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall. And you have a lot of great Cuban Americans that are going to be very happy about this,” he added, indicating a potential shift in power dynamics in the region.
Trump’s comments follow a shocking U.S. military operation that resulted in the abduction and detention of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a surprise attack on Caracas. The couple is expected to appear in court on drug-related charges in New York later on Monday.
The President asserted that the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela, despite the country’s Supreme Court appointing Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader. He further threatened to send U.S. military forces back to Venezuela if the country “doesn’t behave.”
With ambitions to expand U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, Trump has made no secret of his desire to revive the Monroe Doctrine, which asserts that Latin America falls under U.S. control. He has dubbed his modern iteration the “Don-roe Doctrine.”
Over the weekend, Trump indicated that Petro should “watch his a**” and described the political situation in Cuba as “something we’ll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation.”
As tensions escalate, the international community watches closely, anticipating the ramifications of Trump’s aggressive stance towards Latin America.
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