By Jeff Mason, Andy Sullivan and David Ljunggren
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday night he would raise tariffs on Colombia and stop all payments to the South American nation, escalating a feud that stems from the U.S. military's strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs in the region.
Earlier in the day, Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader," while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces had attacked a vessel associated with a Colombian rebel group. Petro said the boat belonged to a "humble family," not a rebel group, while his government called Trump's remarks offensive.
Trump's latest comments marked a new low in relations between Washington and Bogota, which Trump accuses of being complicit in the illicit drug trade. "They don't have a fight against drugs — they make drugs," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Petro has objected to the U.S. military's strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, which have killed dozens of people and inflamed tensions in the region. Many legal experts and human rights activists have also condemned the extraordinary series of military actions.
Trump said U.S. financial aid would be cut off to the country and details about the new tariffs would be unveiled on Monday.
"I'm stopping all payments to Colombia," he said.
It was not clear what funding support Trump was referring to. Colombia was once among the largest recipients of U.S. aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of money was suddenly curtailed this year by the shuttering of USAID, the U.S. government's humanitarian assistance arm.
Colombia currently pays 10% tariffs on most imports to the United States, the baseline level Trump has imposed on many countries.
Colombia's foreign ministry vowed to seek international support in defense of Petro and the country's autonomy. "These accusations represent an extremely serious act and undermine the dignity of the president of Colombians," it said in a statement.
ANOTHER ATTACK
Hegseth wrote on X that the Pentagon had destroyed a vessel and killed three people on Friday "in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," which includes the Caribbean.
He said the ship was affiliated with the leftist rebel group National Liberation Army and was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, without offering evidence to back the claim.
The Pentagon said it had nothing to add beyond Hegseth's initial post.
Petro condemned the bombing, saying the boat belonged to a "humble family," not the National Liberation Army. He also hit back at Trump's remarks.
"Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the United States... but you are rude and ignorant to Colombia," Petro said on X. "Since I am not a businessman, I am even less a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart."
Earlier this month, Petro said one of the strikes hit a Colombian vessel, an allegation the Trump administration denied.
Last month, the United States revoked Petro's visa after he joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey Trump's orders.
Colombia is fighting its own longstanding drug problems. Last year, Petro pledged to tame coca-growing regions in the country with massive social and military intervention, but the strategy has brought little success.
In September, Trump designated countries such as Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia and Venezuela among those the United States believes to have "failed demonstrably" in upholding counternarcotics agreements during the past year.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason aboard Air Force One, Andy Sullivan, David Ljunggren and Raphael Satter; Additional reporting by Sarah Kinosian in Mexico City; Editing by Sergio Non and Nia Williams)
