Colombian President Petro Takes Aim At Marco Rubio: 'Being Latino Is Not About Trampling Over Each Other'

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took aim at Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he continues to criticize the Trump administration's foreign policy.

Speaking during a summit with fellow Latin American leaders, Petro made reference to Rubio's Cuban heritage while rejecting armed conflicts. From here I tell Rubio. You're wrong, you're Latino. And as a Latino you can understand us. You don't have to hide these roots," he said.

"I'm proud of being Latino. But being Latino is not about trampling over each other. In Latin America we have understood, despite some issues, to embrace each other as brothers and not destroy the neighbor's home," he added.

The remarks took place following reports about a U.S. investigations against him over potential ties with drug traffickers. It revolves around potential meetings between Petro and drug traffickers, and whether his campaign requested money from them.

There are two different investigations but it is not clear whether they will result in criminal charges. There were no indications that the White House played a role in beginning any of the inquiries, the outlet added.

Trump frequently clashed with Petro over the past months, particularly over regional policies including strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The U.S. sanctioned him in October, with the Department of the Treasury alleging he allowed narco-terrorist organizations to thrive under the framework of his "total peace" plan, which the U.S. says has contributed to increased cocaine production in Colombia.

Petro and his government rejected the development, with the former saying he has never spoken to anyone involved in such activities in his life.

In a social media publication, Petro said the investigation will actually help him "dismount accusations from far-right Colombians, which are in fact in cahoots with Colombia's drug-traffickers."

"Never in my life I have spoken with a drug-trafficker. On the contrary, I dedicated years ten years of my life, and at personal risk, leading my family into exile, to denounce ties between the most powerful drug-traffickers and politicians," he added.

"As for my campaign, I've always told managers not to accept donations from bankers or narcos. The intensive and productive investigation on my presidential campaign did not discover a single peso from drug-traffickers because such is my principle as a political leader."