Donald Trump faces backlash after calling foreign president a ‘bad man,’ banned by US

Washington/Bogota (The Uttam Hindu): Tensions between the United States and its longtime ally, Colombia, have reached a peak. The Trump administration has announced strict sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro. The US took this step after President Trump accused Petro of not taking concrete steps to stop the cocaine smuggling from Colombia to the United States.

Tensions between Washington and Latin American countries have been escalating over the past few weeks. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant issued a statement saying, "Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has reached its highest level in decades. This has led to a flood of drugs into the United States."

He alleged that President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish in Colombia. President Trump told the media at the White House on October 23 that “Petro is not only a failed leader but an illegal drug dealer who has surrendered his country to criminals.”

The dispute escalated when the US military stepped up its activities in the southern Caribbean, attacking suspicious ships in international waters that it claimed were carrying drugs.

In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the US of "murdering" innocent people with airstrikes in the Caribbean Sea. Petro, who has only 10 months left in his term, has long opposed these US military strikes.

Colombia has reacted sharply to the US sanctions decision. The Colombian government issued a statement calling it a "serious diplomatic aggression."

President Gustavo Petro said, "The US action is motivated by political vendetta. Colombia will never bow to outside pressure. We have fought for peace and justice in our country." The Colombian Foreign Ministry also summoned the US ambassador and lodged a formal protest over President Trump's statements.

Other Latin American countries have also expressed concern over the US's increasing military deployment in the Caribbean Sea. Brazil and Chile issued a joint statement saying that a "diplomatic solution" is the best way to resolve any problem. Mexico, meanwhile, called the Trump administration's decision to deploy the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford to the region a "unilateral and unbalanced" move.