Trump ‘is not king in Colombia’: Petro talks about the country’s current tension with the US

He President Gustavo Petro this Monday he warned his American counterpart, Donald Trumpthat “he is not king in Colombia“and that his government is not going to make concessions, but to”demand“, in the midst of the escalation of diplomatic tensions between both countries due to the anti-drug fight.

“Trump said: ‘Colombia is out of control.’ Well, of course it’s out of his control. In a democracy a government is under the control of the people, not Trump. He is not a king in Colombia, here we do not accept kings, period“said Petro in an interview with journalist Daniel Coronell of Univision.

(You can read: Petro, to apologize for comments about female journalists, after the Court’s ruling).

The president said, at another time, that “In the 21st century, some believe that they can become kings and viceroys, and in republics it is not possible“, and added: “Here the heads of kings are cut off if they arrive with the attitude of a king“.

Last Saturday, Thousands of people came out to protest in the United States in the largest demonstration since Trump’s return to power last January, under the slogan of ‘No Kings’ (We don’t want kings)alluding to the perception that the president acts as a monarch and remembers that the North American country was founded in 1776 on the rejection of the absolute power of a sovereign.

Petro met this Monday in Bogota with the Colombian ambassador in Washington, Daniel García-Peñawhom he called for consultations to analyze the new diplomatic crisis between both countries and, as he announced in the interview, he also plans to meet with the American chargé d’affaires in Colombia, John McNamarawho will bring him “official reasons“.

(Continue reading: Petro – Trump tension: the ‘blows’ to Colombia that country leaders ask to reconsider).

The head of state made it clear, however, that he is not willing to make concessions: “I am not going to concede, I am going to demand. But if Colombia has already conceded everything, it does not have to concede more“, he stated, adding that he follows the example of the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaumwho have maintained firmness without breaking bridges with the US.

President Gustavo Petro

Presidency

“You stand firm and erect, you do not kneel. You should never kneel“, declared Petro.

The latest diplomatic clash between Colombia and the United States broke out on Sunday, when Trump announced the end of financial aid to the South American country for its alleged inaction in the fight against drugs.accused Petro of being “a drug trafficking leader” and warned that he planned to impose trade retaliation.

Petro, who has intensified his criticism of Trump since he ordered a military deployment to the Caribbean in August under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, described the tenant of the White House as “rude and ignorant with Colombia“and his Government announced that it will attend”all international bodies“to defend the national sovereignty that he considers”threatened“.

(Besides: Dollar in Colombia rebounded, after new diplomatic tensions with the United States).

“Mr. Trump is angry that I do not support the Americans with the Colombian Army to invade Venezuela. No, sir, what stupid Colombian could think of helping to invade where his cousins, his nephews, his Colombian people are, of which there are four million? So they can kill them like in Gaza“said the president this Monday.

These crossings occur a month after the United States removed Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, from the list of countries that combat drug trafficking, and the Trump Administration revoked Petro’s visa for requesting from New York to the American soldiers who disobeyed the Republican’s orders, in a harangue in favor of Palestine.

EFE