The White House has responded to remarks made by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who recently criticized the United States and allies over military actions in the Caribbean that have killed dozens as part of what the U.S. government has described as strategic strikes on narcotics traffickers.
A total of 22 vessels have been struck by U.S. forces since September, resulting in at least 83 deaths, according to CBS News. President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have defended the U.S. response to “narco-traffickers” who they claim aspire to bring illegal drugs into the mainland.
“As President [Donald] Trump stated, Colombia President Gustavo Petro is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, despite large-scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term ripoff of America,” a White House official told Military.com.
'Despotic' Behavior
Petro, in remarks made Sunday on social media, said that Mexico and Colombia respect each other and that Latin America and the Caribbean respect each other.
He said he previously proposed to General John Aquilino, former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, that “a meeting of the governments of the United States, China, Mexico and Colombia should now be included in Ecuador, Chile and Australia to analyze a treaty towards a Pacific without illegalities”.
“Trafficking in fentanyl precursors, cocaine, contraband and weapons must be analyzed and treated together,” Petro wrote. “The impositions here only serve the mafias. I propose the same meeting again.”
The Colombian president since 2022 discouraged the U.S. from continued threats against the Caribbean, Mexico and his native country, calling such military actions “despotic” and insinuating they “serve no purpose.”
“May US Homeland Security not end up aiding the mafias,” he added.
White House Response
The White House retorted, defending its military stance while criticizing Petro and the state of his own government.
“Despite billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars invested in Colombia’s counterdrug efforts, cartels are thriving under Petro’s failed policies,” the White House official told Military.com. “It is hardly surprising that President Petro is opposed to President Trump’s successful operations to halt the flow of drugs to our country.”
Major Carrier in Place
There was what some viewed as military escalation on Sunday, when the U.S. deployed its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford—the world’s largest aircraft carrier—to the Caribbean Sea, under control of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which runs operations in the region.
"Through unwavering commitment and the precise use of our forces, we stand ready to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region,” Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of SOUTHCOM, said in a statement on Sunday. “The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group's deployment represents a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safety of the American Homeland.”
Questions remain about increased warfare in the region, including such attacks not being approved by members of Congress as has traditionally been customary.
New reporting from NPR states that in February, at an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces conference at the Justice Department's National Advocacy Center on the University of South Carolina campus, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said that drug-fueled maritime interdiction was unnecessary and that the U.S. should "just sink the boats.”
