Gustavo Petro Claims Venezuela And Colombia Can Be 'Turned Into Syria' Due To Their Mineral Riches

Gustavo Petro claimed that Colombia and Venezuela could be "turned into Syria" because outside forces "care about nothing but greed" as he continues to slam the Trump administration over its military campaign in the region.

"The oligarchs say I want to maintain a dictatorship in Venezuela or share narcos' profit. No, people. Bolivar's sword was never dipped in cocaine. The power is not ours but the peoples' and the time has come for the people in the Americas," Petro said in a social media publication.

Petro was responding to another post from Venezuelan outlet Armando.Info, which claimed that "southern Venezuela's black sands, rich in coltan and rare earths, are being looted by state actors, guerrillas and mobs."

The message, seemingly aimed at the Trump administration, is one of several uttered over the past days. During the weekend, Petro warned the Trump administration to not "wake up the jaguar."

Petro made the claim during a public speech, saying "I would tell (Donald) Trump and (Marco) Rubio to beware." "You are going through the Liberators' Caribbean, you are messing with the land of Bolivar. Have you not read its history? You are coming into lands where farmers armed with spheres defeated the most powerful armies in the world. The Spaniards of the king and the Frenchmen of the Republic. And they failed," he added.

"Beware. There are people in the Caribbean that have always been used to hurricanes and can unleash themselves like one. Like the legend goes, 'if the golden eagle attacks the condor, the American people's jaguar awakens.' Don't awaken the jaguar. We can still talk. South America can save the U.S. by cleaning up its energetic grid," Petro added.