Before the ash fully settled in Caracas, and as Venezuelans still celebrate U.S. strikes on the Venezuelan capital, and the capture and arrest of its now ousted leader, Nicolás Maduro, President Trump warned aboard Air Force One on Sunday that possible operations in Colombia remain on the table.
The statement came while commenting on Venezuela, regarding the events that transpired during the early morning hours on Saturday, Jan. 3, stating:
“Colombia is very sick... and is run by a very sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he is not going to be doing it for very long, let me tell you.”
A reporter aboard Air Force One followed up by asking, “What does that mean? ‘He’s not going to be doing it for very long?’” President Trump then answered, “He has cocaine mills and factories, he’s not going to be doing it very long.”
The reporter then presumed, “So there will be an operation by the U.S. in Colombia?”
To which the president responded, “That sounds good to me.”
The Colombian president has remained one of the region’s staunchest critics of President Trump, who has opposed recent U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, challenging Washington over recent strikes on suspected drug vessels in the region, including the Pentagon’s large military deployment in the South Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, attempting to ward off what Petro calls the “imperialist dominance” of the North Americans.
🚨🇺🇸🇨🇴 | AHORA/U.S.-COLOMBIA: President Trump speaks with reporters, opens door to possible U.S. operations to remove President Gustavo Petro from power.
— Sociedad Media (@sociedadmedia) January 5, 2026
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Petro has also accused the administration in Washington of attempting to destabilize Latin America and “steal” Venezuela’s natural resources in gold and oil.
President Petro later took to X after Trump’s comments aboard Air Force One, writing:
“I deeply reject Trump speaking without knowing; my name doesn’t appear in the judicial files on drug trafficking over 50 years, neither from before nor from the present. Stop slandering me, Mr. Trump. That’s not how you threaten a Latin American president who emerged from the armed struggle and then from the people of Colombia’s fight for Peace”, wrote Petro.
Petro also came out in defense of Venezuela’s now-detained former leader, Nicolás Maduro, adding,
“I don’t know if Maduro is good or bad, not even if he’s a drug trafficker; in the files of the Colombian justice system, after half a century of dealing with the biggest cocaine mafias, the names of Nicolás Maduro or Cilia Flores don’t appear. Those who have come forward to denounce him are Venezuelan opposition generals, nothing more, seeking to topple the popular vote.”
Nicolás Maduro is currently being held at DEA headquarters in New York City, awaiting a court appearance on Monday related to drug trafficking and conspiracy charges, according to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
