Trump Makes Threat To Colombia's Petro 'as U.S. Escalates Operations In The Caribbean: 'He Will Be Next'

President Donald Trump gave a warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro as the U.S. continues to escalate its military campaign against Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and ongoing tensions with Bogotá over drug-trafficking allegations.

Asked at the White House whether he plans to speak with Petro, Trump dismissed the possibility, saying the Colombian leader "has been quite hostile toward the United States." He added: "I hope he's listening. He will be next," in reference to his current pressure on neighboring Venezuela.

Trump went on to assert that Petro "is going to have big problems if he doesn't realize" that Colombia is "producing a lot of drugs," claiming that cocaine is manufactured in the country "and sold directly to the United States."

Washington removed Colombia from its list of cooperating countries on drug control in September and imposed sanctions on Petro shortly afterward, accusing him of being a "drug-trafficking leader," a characterization Petro has rejected, as CNN points out. The Colombian president insists his administration's anti-drug strategy is effective and aimed at reducing violence inside the country.

The warning comes amid a marked escalation of U.S. operations against Venezuela. Since September, American forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels they say were transporting drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in more than 80 deaths.

Trump has said that attacks inside Venezuelan territory could begin "soon," while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to organize into citizen militias in response.

Petro and Trump have exchanged increasingly combative messages over the past month. On December 7, Petro criticized the administration's strikes, saying they kill "poor fishermen" who take drug-smuggling trips "out of need," while "former presidents with strong ties to narco terrorism" receive pardons.

Petro was referring to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, whom Trump defended after pardoning him. Petro said the United States is "getting its allies wrong" and warned that it "cannot be allied with narcos."

Trump had earlier argued that any country "selling us their cocaine is subject to attack," adding that Colombia has "cocaine manufacturing plants." Petro rejected the statement, saying his government has destroyed "18,400 drug labs" without missile strikes and warning Trump not to "threaten our sovereignty because you'll wake up the jaguar." He added that attacking Colombia would amount to "declaring war."

Trump also made similar comments in mid-November, when he said he would be "proud" to destroy "cocaine factories in Colombia" as part of his administration's widening regional operations:

"Would I destroy these factories? I would do it proudly, personally. I didn't say I would, but I would be proud to do it because we would save millions of lives by doing it"