Colombia’s leftist president has boldly challenged Donald Trump following a dramatic operation by U.S. special forces that led to the capture of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife on charges related to drug trafficking.
Gustavo Petro, known for his outspoken nature, issued a daring rebuke as tensions in Latin America escalated, daring the U.S. president to target him amid increasing threats of American military intervention in the region.
“Come get me,” Petro stated in a stark public message directed at Washington. “I’m waiting for you here. Don’t threaten me; I’ll be right here if you want to come.”
This remarkable statement followed Trump’s suggestion that Colombia might also face U.S. action as part of a broader crackdown on alleged drug networks across the continent.
Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and a vocal opponent of U.S. interventions, further rejected any notion of foreign military presence on Colombian soil.
“I don’t accept invasions, missiles, or assassinations, only intelligence,” he asserted, emphasizing his readiness to confront his detractors directly.
He demanded ‘facts, not lies,’ while lashing out at what he described as entrenched corruption at home, accusing ‘Colombian political mafias who condemned us to 700,000 deaths and made us the world’s most unequal country.’
The heated exchange follows an explosive US operation in neighbouring Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69.
Gustavo Petro did not mince his words as tensions in Latin America surged, daring the US president to come after him amid growing threats of American military intervention in the region
This image, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account on Saturday, shows Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima after the US military captured him
Explosions tore across Caracas during the daring raid early Saturday morning as shown in a video posted by Trump on his Truth Social account
President Donald Trump, seen on Air Force One on Sunday, hailed his government’s ‘brilliant’ capture of Maduro in the early hours of Saturday
Maduro was hauled before a federal court in Manhattan on Monday, where scenes outside descended into chaos as protesters clashed and police were forced to intervene.
In the wake of the arrests, Trump issued a series of ominous warnings to governments across the region, including Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico, demanding tougher action against drug cartels and accusing leaders of failing to stem the flow of narcotics into the US.
Trump singled out Petro in blunt terms. ‘He’s making cocaine,’ he alleged, claiming the drug was being funnelled directly into the US.
‘So he does have to watch his a**,’ Trump said on Saturday.
But the controversy did not end there.
Following Maduro’s arrest, Trump suggested the United States ‘takeover’ Venezuela during a transitional period, with a sharp focus on the country’s vast – but crumbling – oil reserves.
He claimed Venezuela’s oil industry had been allowed to rot and said American firms would step in to rebuild it.
‘The oil companies are going to go in and rebuild their system,’ Trump said. ‘It was the greatest theft in the history of America.’
Trump went on to accuse Venezuela of stealing US oil assets outright.
‘Nobody has ever stolen our property like they have. They took our oil away from us,’ he claimed.
‘They took the infrastructure away and all that infrastructure is rotted and decayed, and the oil companies are going to go in and rebuild it.’
The White House has reportedly told oil companies that reconstructing Venezuela’s oil rigs would be a condition of any compensation linked to previously seized assets.
Trump’s hardline stance has drawn fierce criticism – particularly given questions surrounding his recent pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 45 years in a US prison.
Asked about the controversial decision, Trump insisted Hernández had been ‘persecuted very unfairly’.
It comes as Maduro came face-to-face with what Attorney General Pam Bondi said would be the ‘full wrath’ of the American justice system on January 5.
The deposed President of Venezuela got into a shouting match with a man who claimed he had been jailed by Maduro’s regime.
Maduro screamed back at Pedro Rojas, who was in the public gallery, that he was a ‘prisoner of war’ after Rojas warned him he would ‘pay’ for his crimes.
The extraordinary exchange happened at the end of the 30-minute hearing at the federal court in Manhattan, where a judge told Maduro to stop talking midway through a rant about how he had been ‘kidnapped’ by US forces.
It was a humbling moment for a man who three days earlier was a head of state.
Maduro walked into courtroom 26A wearing a blue T-shirt with an orange T-shirt underneath and tan issue prison pants.
His hands were cuffed behind him, and they were released as he walked into the court through a side door: his legs were shackled.
Maduro and his wife both pleaded not guilty.
During his plea, Maduro said: ‘I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still President of Venezuela.’
Flores identified herself as the ‘First Lady of Venezuela’ and said she was ‘completely innocent’.
The court set the next date for March 17, and no application for bail was made.
As she sat in court, Flores had visible bruises to her face: one the size of a golf ball on her forehead, red cheeks, and what appeared to be a welt over her right eye.
During the hearing, her lawyer Mark Donnelly asked that she be given an X-ray because she had sustained ‘significant injuries’ during her apprehension.
There was a ‘fracture or severe injuries to her ribs’, Donnelly said.
Maduro was seized in the early hours of Saturday in Caracas alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, during a high-risk operation carried out by the US Army’s elite Delta Force.
The pair was captured at their heavily fortified compound after US intelligence tracked their movements.
Maduro arriving at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport Monday morning, as he headed toward the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse for an initial appearance
Cilia Flores arrived at the Wall Street Heliport in New York Monday with visible bruising to her forehead and cheek. She and her husband both pled not guilty to narco-terrorism charges
Maduro reportedly raced to shut a six-inch-thick steel door to a safe room seconds before US special forces stormed the residence.
According to CNN, the couple was taken from their bedroom as they slept, with no US casualties reported.
They were later flown out of Caracas by helicopter after Trump personally authorized the mission, which was guided by CIA surveillance.
He ruled alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, and three other dominant figures: Delcy Rodríguez, now Venezuela’s interim leader; her brother Jorge Rodríguez; and their longtime rival, hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
