Trump calls Colombia leader 'illegal drug dealer,' cuts aid

The United States will slash US assistance to Colombia because its leader, Gustavo Petro, “does nothing to stop” drug production, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, escalating the friction between Washington and one of its closest allies in Latin America.

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In a social media post, Trump referred to Petro as “an illegal drug dealer” who is “low rated and very unpopular.”

The Republican president warned that Petro “better close up” drug operations “or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely.”

Hours later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest US strike on a vessel that was allegedly carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics.”

He said the vessel was associated with a Colombian rebel group - the National Liberation Army, or ELN - that has been in conflict with Petro’s government. He did not provide any evidence for his assertions, but he shared a brief video clip of a boat engulfed in flames after an explosion on Friday.

The State Department designated the group as a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997.

Petro, who can be as vocal on social media as his American counterpart, rejected Trump's accusations and defended his work to fight narcotics in Colombia, the world’s largest exporter of cocaine.