Former general secretary of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, at a meeting of the organization. File photo.
The former president of Colombia and former general secretary of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Ernesto Samper, sent a strong message to US President Donald Trump after the latter’s recent interventionist actions against several countries and governments in Latin America.
“President Trump, keep your hands off Latin America,” Samper said in a video message posted on social media on Thursday, August 14. He criticized the US president for his acts of interference in the criminal cases against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe.
Presidente Trump (@POTUS): saque las manos de América Latina. No se meta con la justicia que castiga a @jairbolsonaro en el Brasil y juzga a @AlvaroUribeVel en Colombia. No trate al presidente de Venezuela como criminal ni se le ocurra enviar tropas a la región, porque desatará… pic.twitter.com/3CIAAl4WOX
— Ernesto Samper Pizano (@ernestosamperp) August 14, 2025
“Do not interfere with the justice that punishes Bolsonaro in Brazil and judges Uribe in Colombia,” Samper continued. He also advised Trump against treating Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “like a criminal,” in reference to the $50 million reward offered by his administration in exchange for the capture of the Venezuelan president.
Samper especially warned Trump not to even think about “sending troops to the region,” because such an action “will unleash a war with painful consequences.”
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The former Colombian president also reminded the US president that no Latin American territory belongs to him. “Panama, President, is neither yours nor of the USA. Neither Malvinas [Argentina], nor Guantánamo [Cuba] has ever been, nor will ever be,” he said, demanding an end to the “genocidal blockade” that Washington unilaterally imposes on Cuba and Venezuela.
He also asked Trump to “stop persecuting Latin American migrants residing in the US, as if they were animals.”
“Stay away from us, keep your hands off Latin America, Mr. President,” Samper emphasized.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
