Trump, Colombia leader trade threats as US strikes boats in Pacific
By W.G. DUNLOP, with David Salazar in Bogota
Washington (AFP) Oct 23, 2025

President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro traded angry threats Wednesday as the United States announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead.

Trump branded Petro a "thug" and suggested he was a drug trafficker leading his country to ruin, prompting the leftist leader to vow: "I will defend myself legally with American lawyers."

The US president also said vital military aid to Bogota had been cut and warned Petro -- a sharp critic of the strikes -- to "watch it," while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Colombian leader a "lunatic."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meanwhile announced two strikes on boats in the Pacific -- one on Wednesday and another the day before -- in social media posts showing the vessels being engulfed in flames.

"Just as Al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness -- only justice," wrote Hegseth.

The strikes, which Hegseth said were carried out in international waters, bring the total number of such US attacks to at least nine, with 37 people dead, according to US figures.

Until now the strikes had only taken place in the Caribbean.

The origin of the targeted vessels -- eight boats and one semi-submersible -- has not been disclosed, though some were destroyed off Venezuela's coast.

- 'Unacceptable' -

At least one came from Trinidad and Tobago, another from Colombia, families of those killed told AFP.

Washington has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships as part of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets were drug smugglers.

The Pentagon told Congress the United States is in "armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels, designating them as terrorist groups and describing suspected smugglers as "unlawful combatants."

Experts say the summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed traffickers.

Regional tensions have flared, with Colombia recalling its ambassador to Washington and Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who said Wednesday that his country has 5,000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to counter US forces.

Colombia is the world's top cocaine producer, but has worked for decades alongside the United States to curb production, which is controlled by a range of well-funded paramilitary, cartel and guerrilla groups.

But relations have soured markedly since Trump and Petro have taken power, with the fued intensifying in recent weeks over the Republican president's deadly anti-drug campaign.

"Under no circumstances can one justify that kind of threats and accusations that have no basis whatsoever," Colombian ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena told AFP after being recalled to Bogota for consultations.

"There are elements that are unacceptable," he said, visibly alarmed after being told what Trump had said minutes before.

"We are facing a US government that is trying to change the paradigm of its international relations" Garcia-Pena added, "where uncertainty unfortunately plays a very important role."

"At stake here is a historic relationship of more than 200 years that benefits both the United States and Colombia," he said.

Bolsonaro's son urges US to bomb narco boats in Rio
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) Oct 23, 2025 - Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, on Thursday urged the United States to bomb boats in Rio de Janeiro to fight drug trafficking, as it has done in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Washington has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships in the Caribbean as part of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts, destroying nine vessels and killing at least 37 people, according to US figures.

President Donald Trump's government alleges the boats were involved in drug trafficking, although it has not shared evidence to back that assertion and some family members of those killed say they were innocent fishermen.

Flavio Bolsonaro said he was "envious" in a post on the X social media platform responding to one by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, featuring a video of the moment a boat sailing at sea is hit by a missile and set ablaze.

"I heard there are boats like this here in Rio de Janeiro, in Guanabara Bay, flooding Brazil with drugs. Wouldn't you like to spend a few months here helping us fight these terrorist organizations?"

Trump last week said he had authorized covert CIA action against Venezuela and was considering strikes against alleged drug cartels on land.

The US actions -- which killed at least one Colombian -- have also enraged that country's leftist President Gustavo Petro and shattered ties between Washington and Bogota.

Petro said Trump was "carrying out extrajudicial executions" that "violate international law" by striking alleged drug-trafficking boats.

Washington has not released evidence to support its assertion that the targets of its strikes are drug smugglers, and experts say the summary killings are illegal even if they hit confirmed narcotics traffickers.

The Bolsonaro family has close ties to Trump.

The former president was sentenced last month to 27 years in prison over a botched coup attempt in what Trump said was a "witch hunt" against his ally.

Another son of the former president, Eduardo, lobbied hard for Washington to impose punitive tariffs on Brazil and sanctions against top officials.

However, tensions between Brasilia and Washington have thawed in recent weeks with a potential meeting on the cards between Trump and leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at a summit starting this weekend in Malaysia.

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