Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a military ceremony at General Santander Military School on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. Photo: Edited screenshot from Colombian Presidency video.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Colombian President Gustavo Petro has requested an urgent meeting with foreign ministers from Latin America, amid threats of aggression and interference by the government of the US empire. “We will not betray the flag,” he said. “It is a flag of sovereignty and freedom, no matter what happens.”
President Petro stated this Tuesday, August 12, that the meeting must be held as soon as possible due to the recent nature of the threats, and did not hesitate to compare them with the situation in Gaza: “They have threatened us because they want to attack the homeland of BolĂvar, like in Gaza.”
“The drug trafficking that exists here wants to kill me and my family because we are destroying them,” he added, while emphasizing that fentanyl, which causes some 100,000 deaths in the US empire, is not produced in Colombia.
President Petro called on General Carlos Fernando Triana Beltrán, director of the Colombian National Police, to coordinate with Venezuela and other Latin American and Caribbean countries to combat drug trafficking. He recently recognized the support of the Venezuelan government in this fight.
This Tuesday, President Gustavo Petro also reported being insulted by the US empire’s Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau, and revealed he considered banning him from entering Colombia.
The controversy comes amid the US imperial official’s visit to Bogotá to attend the funeral of Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, and Landau’s comments about an “increase in assassinations” of presidential candidates in the region, while calling Petro a “Marxist president.”
“From Miami, where they have only created ideologies of hate that they want to impose on us, the US undersecretary of state says he’s coming tonight,” Petro said from the General Santander Military School, during a military ceremony. “I could stop him. And I’ve thought about it because he insulted me. But I’m not like them.”
In recent hours, Landau “expressed concern” over the murder of the Colombian politician; however, he arrived on time for the funeral service.
In defense of Venezuela
Petro warned that any intervention or action against Venezuela would be considered aggression against Colombia and all of Latin America, arguing that Colombia and Venezuela share the “same history and are the same people.”
Since last weekend, the Colombian president has made public statements on this delicate issue. Many analysts speculate he might have access to the US empire’s destabilization plans, especially after the US colony raised the bounty for the “capture” of President Nicolás Maduro, and mainstream media reported a covert military operation from the US entity targeting Latin America.
As commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, he issued an order stating any military operation [by the US empire and its allies] in the region without neighboring countries’ approval would be viewed as aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean.
Finally, he urged the US empire and Venezuela to coordinate multinational actions against drug trafficking, respecting each country’s sovereignty. He emphasized the objective must be to eradicate the greed of drug trafficking.
Colombia’s Petro Backs Maduro, Labels Unapproved US Military Ops ‘Aggression’ in Latin America
Venezuela-Colombia trade
On Tuesday, it was reported that binational trade between Venezuela and Colombia reached US$478.6 million in May 2025, a 20% increase compared to US$399 million in the same period last year.
The information was provided by the Venezuelan-Colombian Chamber of Economic Integration (Cavecol) during its semiannual report. It explained that by May 2025, imports of Colombian products continued to experience a significant 25.3% increase, reaching US$430.9 million.
Of the total trade between the two countries, US$180.8 million was recorded across the borders of Táchira state, Venezuela, and Norte de Santander department, Colombia. Meanwhile, US$159.8 million was recorded between Paraguachón, Venezuela, and Maicao, Colombia.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/AU
