Petro calls on Colombians to take to the streets following Trump threats

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has condemned Donald Trump’s threat of military action against him, calling on citizens to take to the streets and saying he would take up arms to defend his country if needed.

Speaking to reporters Monday night, Trump suggested Petro’s days are numbered and indicated approval for an operation in Colombia like the one that ousted Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.

While analysts cast doubt on the likelihood of Trump following through with the threat, they say it may inadvertently embolden Petro’s leftist party ahead of elections in May.

Responding to a journalist’s question on Sunday night of whether he would order a military operation in Colombia similar to the one in Venezuela, Trump responded, “it sounds good to me.”

The U.S. president also took aim at Petro personally: “Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

In response, Petro took to X in the early hours of Monday to protest and call for Colombians to defend their homeland.

“Venezuelan youth have taken to the streets to defend their country. All Venezuelan, Colombian, and Latin American people must take to the streets. National sovereignty is popular sovereignty,” Petro wrote.

In another X post, the South American leader shared an undated video showing Maduro supporters marching in Venezuela, writing “This is how you defend a homeland. This is how Colombia should be defended.”

Petro has been one of the most vocal critics of the U.S. military operation over the weekend, decrying it as a threat to Latin American sovereignty.

The former leftist rebel even suggested that, although he has not touched a gun since signing a 1989 peace deal, “for my homeland, I will once again take up arms.”

Trump’s threats against Petro are not new; in December, he said of the Colombian president, “He better wise up or he’ll be next. He’ll be next soon. I hope he’s listening, he’s going to be next.”

While his words have a harsher bite following Washington’s shock intervention in Venezuela, analysts maintain that Washington is unlikely to pursue military action against Petro.

“I think that Donald Trump says a lot of things… I’m sure he has no idea that Gustavo Petro’s term ends in August,” said Adam Isacson, director for Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America. “If Petro were to be in office until 2027, then there really would be a chance of some sort of confrontation.”

Trump has been engaged in a bitter feud with his Colombian counterpart since assuming office, with the two clashing on topics ranging from deportations to drugs.

In October, Trump accused Petro of being “an illegal drug dealer”, citing record high estimated cocaine production in Colombia. But Petro has repeatedly defended his counternarcotics record, saying the methodology used to estimate drug output is flawed, a claim accepted by the United Nations office that compiles the reports.

Nevertheless, the White House has personally sanctioned Petro and repeatedly accused him of involvement in the narcotics trade. But Trump’s latest threats may unwittingly strengthen the Colombian president’s political movement ahead of upcoming elections.

“Trump’s election interference in Colombia may not go the way he desires,” said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a Bogota-based political risk consultancy.

He noted that the U.S. leader “is not the most popular president in Colombia” and his comments may bolster support for Petro.

Isacson said Trump’s threats “might be inadvertently helping Petro,” who has positioned himself as a bulwark against Washington’s aggressive interference in the region, tapping into Colombian patriotism.

But Guzmán added it is too soon to tell what impact Trump’s threats may have.

“It’s unlikely that this will be taken very, very seriously until we have more information about where this is going.”