Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio said that after US President Donald Trump called President Gustavo Petro a “drug lord”, the Colombian ambassador to Washington has been recalled for consultations.
In a statement published on the website of the Colombian Foreign Ministry, Minister Villavicencio said: “Colombia’s Ambassador to Washington, Daniel García Pena, was recalled by President Gustavo Petro for consultations and is currently in Bogota.”
The Foreign Minister added that the national government will make public the decisions taken on this issue in the coming hours.
What happened?
Trump called President Petro “the leader of the drug business” and announced the end of financial assistance to Colombia.
Trump, claiming that Petro “encourages drug production on a large and small scale” throughout the country, said that drug production in Colombia has become “the largest business in the country.”
“Colombian President Gustavo Petro is the leader of the illegal drug trade as of today no payments or subsidies will be provided on Columbia Day. Petro must immediately close these killing fields, otherwise America will do it for him, and it will not be so polite,” the US President threatened.
In his first statement, Petro responded: “Trump is influenced by the groups and advisers around him.”
In September, the US excluded Colombia from list of certified countries, considering it unsuccessful in the fight against drugs, but Washington decided to continue assistance to Colombia, noting that this support is important for its national interests.