Politics

In Colombia, anger and disbelief at Trump threats of U.S. strikes

Published

2 months ago

December 3, 2025

In Colombia, anger and disbelief at Trump threats of U.S. strikes

WASHINGTON — An offhand comment by President Trump threatening to attack Colombia, a major U.S. ally, has roiled its government and confounded its public, anxious and unsure whether to take the U.S. leader seriously.

Trump’s remarks came during questions from reporters Tuesday over a prospective U.S. military campaign against drug trafficking networks in Latin America. The mission could expand beyond Venezuela, the prime target of nascent U.S. war plans, the president said.

“I hear Colombia, the country of Colombia, is making cocaine,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting. “Then they sell us their cocaine. We appreciate that very much, but yeah, anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack. Not just Venezuela.”

Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, who has repeatedly clashed with the White House, likened Trump’s bellicose rhetoric to a declaration of war.

“Do not threaten our sovereignty, because you will awaken the Jaguar,” Petro wrote on X. “Attacking our sovereignty is declaring war; do not damage two centuries of diplomatic relations.”

In an official communique, the Colombian Foreign Ministry called on “brotherly” nations in Latin America and the Caribbean to reject “any attempt at foreign intervention that seeks to undermine sovereignty.”

Trump’s latest threat comes amid deteriorating relations with Bogota, which celebrated 200 years of diplomatic relations with Washington just three years ago and, marking the occasion, was designated a major non-NATO ally by President Biden, a status celebrated across party lines on Capitol Hill.

Petro’s election that year began a shift, with U.S. assistance reduced in 2024 over Petro’s drug policies and, at the beginning of this year, paused completely by the Trump administration. The Treasury Department labeled Petro an “illegal drug dealer” in October and imposed sanctions against him and his family.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been a harsh critic of President Trump.

(Fernando Vergara / Associated Press)

Evan Ellis, who served in Trump’s first term planning State Department policy on Latin America, the Caribbean, and international narcotics, told The Times that strikes against Colombia are unlikely — but not as far-fetched as the prospect of a U.S. attack on Mexico, whose economic clout is greater, and whose government has fared better in diplomacy with Washington.

“There’s a strong hope that it’s just bluster — that, given Colombia has a sovereign government that the U.S. recognizes and has long worked with, it’s understood it would be catastrophic for the relationship,” Ellis said. “There’s a combination of concern and confusion, but there is a hope that this is just part of the president’s style.”

Trump’s secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and deputy secretary of State, Christopher Landau, both have deep knowledge of the region and are said to be advocating against military strikes against U.S. allies. But Petro’s insults against Trump, calling him “ignorant,” “profoundly rude” and “against humanity,” have rankled a U.S. president accustomed to obsequious praise.

“In a certain way, despite the close military relationship and everything at stake, you clearly have a president who’s been imprudent at best,” Ellis said of Petro. “Making shrill and defiant statements against Trump are about the clearest way to get on his bad side.”

United Nations figures show that Colombian cultivation of coca — the raw ingredient in cocaine — has reached record levels in recent years, fueled by rising demand for cocaine not only in the United States, but also Europe and elsewhere.

Whereas U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been strained for more than a quarter of a century, Colombia has long been viewed as a steadfast ally, receiving billions in aid from Washington destined for antidrug campaigns. The alliance has endured despite large-scale internal strife in Colombia and the nation’s status as the world’s primary producer and exporter of cocaine.

The specter of a U.S. military attack seemed unfathomable to many Colombians processing the news Wednesday.

“A few years ago, we would never have imagined that Colombia could be threatened with attacks on its territory,” said Sebastián Bitar, an analyst at the University of the Andes. “We trusted in the solid relationship between the United States and Colombia.”

Guillermo Cochez, a Panamanian politician who served as his nation’s ambassador to the Organization of American States, believes that Trump’s threat against Colombia amounts to bluster, noting close ties between U.S. Southern Command and the Colombian military. “The most Americanized military in Latin America is the Colombian military,” Cochez told The Times.

“The United States will not do anything in Colombia, because they have to solve Venezuela first. That will be happening in the next phase,” Cochez said.

“Petro has so many problems inside Colombia that is known by the American government,” Cochez added. “It’s a distraction for Donald Trump. He’s trying to use his fight with Trump to try to get some respect in Colombia.”

The armed forces of the two nations have collaborated for years, conducting joint training exercises and counter-narcotics operations. A unilateral strike could upend that relationship, wrote the Colombian daily El Heraldo in an editorial, warning a U.S. attack could spark an “unprecedented regional reaction, with internally displaced [civilians], retaliations by various actors, border crises and new diasporas.”

Throughout Latin America, Trump’s saber-rattling has alarmed many — especially on the left — reflecting the region’s historic wariness of U.S. intervention.

Alejandro Rusconi, a left-wing Argentine lawyer and analyst, called Trump’s statements “yet another demonstration of the belligerent escalation being carried out by the U.S. government against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

But many local analysts warned that Colombia needed to heed Trump’s threat, taking whatever steps are necessary to avoid a direct confrontation.

“Its not the time to provoke the United States,” economist Mauricio Reina told Red Más Noticias, a Colombian outlet.

“With Donald Trump,” he added, “one has to fly low, avoiding the radar.”

Politics

Gov Whitmer says America ‘ready for a woman president,’ contrasting Michelle Obama

Published

5 hours ago

January 21, 2026

Press Room

Gov Whitmer says America ‘ready for a woman president,’ contrasting Michelle Obama

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Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she believes America is ready for a woman president, pushing back on recent comments by former first lady Michelle Obama, who said U.S. voters were not ready to elect a woman to the White House.

In an interview with NPR released on Tuesday, Whitmer said she has “love” for the former first lady and “the last thing I want to do is disagree with her,” but that she has a different perspective.

“I think America is ready for a woman president,” Whitmer said. “The question comes down to a choice between two people, and what we saw in this last election, while Kamala Harris didn’t beat President Trump, we saw women get elected across the country.”

“We saw women win up and down the ballot in hard, important states to win, so I do think there’s an appetite,” she added. “I just, for whatever reason, we have not had a woman president yet. I think we will at some point in the near future.”

MICHELLE OBAMA SAYS AMERICA ‘NOT READY’ FOR WOMAN PRESIDENT: ‘WE SAW IN THIS PAST ELECTION’

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she believes America is ready for a woman president. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The governor cited the election victories last year for Democratic Govs. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherill in New Jersey, as well as Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in 2024.

In November, Obama said Americans are “not ready” to elect a woman to the White House, pointing to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss to President Donald Trump in the last presidential election.

“As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” the former first lady said at the Brooklyn Academy of Music at the time while promoting her book, “The Look.”

NANCY PELOSI THINKS A WOMAN WILL BE ELECTED PRESIDENT, BUT ‘MAYBE NOT’ IN HER LIFETIME

Former first lady Michelle Obama said Americans are “not ready” to elect a woman to the White House. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not … We’ve got a lot of growing up to do, and there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it,” she added.

Pressed on whether Harris lost to Trump in the presidential election because she is a woman, Whitmer responded: “I don’t think it was just gender, no.”

Whitmer, who is term limited and cannot seek a third term as governor, said she does not currently have plans to run for another office.

She has been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, but the governor said her focus remains on serving Michigan and helping her party’s candidates win the upcoming midterm elections.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she does not think former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to President Donald Trump just because she is a woman. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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Asked about how Democrats could win in the midterms this year, Whitmer pointed to her gubernatorial campaign’s decision to remain “focused on the fundamentals.”

“I don’t think Michigan is unique in that,” Whitmer said. “I think every person in this country wants and expects government to make their lives better, and so that’s been our formula here in Michigan and I think that can be replicated everywhere successfully.”

Politics

Anti-Trump protesters join ‘Free America’ walkout in downtown L.A. and across SoCal

Published

6 hours ago

January 21, 2026

Press Room

Anti-Trump protesters join ‘Free America’ walkout in downtown L.A. and across SoCal

On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of protesters walked out of school and off the job to march in downtown Los Angeles nd decry President Trump’s actions during his first year back in office.

The “Free America Walkout” at Los Angeles City Hall was among dozens of rallies taking place across Southern California and the nation. The event was coordinated by the Women’s March and intended to demonstrate opposition to violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, the increased presence of military personnel in cities, Trump’s harmful immigration policies toward families and escalating attacks on transgender rights.

Hundreds of protesters marched along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Among the slogans on their signs: “Democracy doesn’t fear protest, dictators do” and “We choose freedom over fascism.” Meanwhile, similar marches took place in Burbank, Long Beach and Santa Monica. Scores of students at Garfield and Roosevelt high schools in East L.A. ditched class to join the downtown rally.

“I just don’t know if he’s [Trump] actually done anything that is positive,” downtown protester Mario Noguera told ABC7 News. “Everything’s been about depleting everything: resources, rights. I just don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere.”

The walkout took place on the anniversary of Trump’s inauguration, an event he commemorated with a nearly two-hour news conference in which he called his first year in office “an amazing period of time” where his administration accomplished more than any other in history.

“We have a book that I’m not going to read to you, but these are the accomplishments of what we’ve produced, page after page after page of individual things,” Trump said, holding up a thick stack of papers. “I could sit here, read it for a week, and we wouldn’t be finished.”

Among the list of accomplishments he touted were his tariffs, his immigration crackdown, the economy and his actions in Gaza and Venezuela.

The Free America Walkout began at 2 p.m. in cities across the U.S. and was designed to differ from mass weekend actions such as the No Kings protests by deliberately taking place during the workday.

Organizers said that whereas protests demonstrate collective anger, walkouts demonstrate collective power.

“A walkout interrupts business as usual,” organizers stated. “It makes visible how much our labor, participation, and cooperation are taken for granted — and what happens when we withdraw them together.”

In downtown L.A., protesters condemned the effects of ICE raids locally as well as in Minneapolis, where a federal agent recently shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a wife and mother.

This month, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Los Angeles as part of the “ICE Out for Good” weekend of action, a national protest movement in response to Good’s killing.

Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, criticized the stream of local anti-Trump protests Tuesday.

“Their boring, predictable tantrums are now part of the L.A. landscape, much like the dilapidated RVs and dangerous encampments that their policies result in,” Hoge told the Los Angeles Daily News. “We are interested in good governance and public safety, and wish our Democrat friends would join us in advocating for both.”

Politics

Ilhan Omar accuses Noem of ‘lies and propaganda’ on Minnesota arrests

Published

17 hours ago

January 20, 2026

Press Room

Ilhan Omar accuses Noem of ‘lies and propaganda’ on Minnesota arrests

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Tuesday accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of spreading “lies and propaganda” regarding ICE arrests in Minnesota.

Omar was responding to Noem’s X post stating that federal officials have “arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis,” including “3,000 criminal illegal aliens” in the last six weeks.

Under Noem’s post, the secretary shared dozens of photos of who she described as criminal illegal aliens.

“This would be amazing if it wasn’t full of lies and propaganda,” Omar wrote. “The only reason she has photos of these criminals in prison is because they were already in prison. Stop terrorizing people with your fake PR about criminals in Minneapolis because the only people on the streets of Minneapolis you are arresting are law abiding citizens.”

NOEM HAMMERS WALZ, FREY FOR IGNORING 1,360 ICE DETAINERS FOR CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attends a news conference with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on funding and accountability for the Department of Homeland Security in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Omar, who was born in Somalia and whose district covers much of Minneapolis, has been outspoken against the Trump administration and its deployment of ICE agents amid crackdowns on illegal immigration and fraud in the city and state.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivers remarks at the Assumption of Command Ceremony for U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin E. Lunday at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters on Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

TRUMP ASSERTS ILHAN OMAR SHOULD BE JAILED OR BOOTED TO SOMALIA

With the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent as a flash point, critics say ICE agents are engaging in strong-arm tactics meant to intimidate the populace.

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Minneapolis and St. Paul are already hosting some 3,000 federal agents deployed there after a massive fraud scandal rocked the state late last year. President Donald Trump has floated invoking the Insurrection Act to quell unrest in the state, although he appeared to back off the idea on Friday.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.