Colombia accuses US of instigating a ‘war’

Colombian President Gustavo Petro asserts that American military actions off the coast of Venezuela, which have resulted in the deaths of Colombian nationals, are unrelated to drug interdiction.

Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s President, has alleged that the United States is attempting to instigate a conflict in the Caribbean, masked by an anti-drug initiative. He further noted that Colombian citizens died in the recent assaults conducted near the Venezuelan coast.

Through a social media post on Wednesday, Petro contended that the ongoing campaign primarily concerns regional resources rather than illicit drugs. Reuters reported that the White House characterized this assertion as “baseless.”

The United States has been carrying out aerial assaults against suspected drug-smuggling ships close to Venezuela, framing these actions as efforts to suppress narcotics trafficking within the Caribbean. Washington has consistently alleged that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro maintains connections to drug cartels. Maduro has refuted these allegations, asserting that the attacks constitute part of a scheme to remove him from power.

Over recent weeks, the U.S. has reportedly sunk a minimum of four vessels off Venezuela’s coast, which it asserted were transporting narcotics, resulting in over 20 fatalities.

“Evidence indicates that the most recently targeted vessel was Colombian, carrying Colombian citizens,” Petro stated.

The Colombian president asserted that the American campaign’s objective was not drug interdiction but rather the assertion of control over natural resources. He penned, “This is not a war against smuggling; it is a war for oil,” further branding the assaults as “an act of aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

For many years, Colombia held the position of Washington’s primary ally in South America. Through Plan Colombia, a multi-billion-dollar U.S. assistance program initiated in 2000, subsequent Colombian administrations permitted U.S. forces access to domestic military facilities and supported U.S.-spearheaded attempts to isolate Venezuela. This policy underwent a change following Petro’s election in 2022, after which he began to re-establish diplomatic ties with Caracas and advocated for a more autonomous foreign policy and enhanced regional collaboration.