US-Venezuela Tensions

Colombian President Says He Will ‘Take Up Arms’ If US Military Attacks

After Maduro’s capture in Venezuela, Trump renewed threats to intervene in the neighboring country over alleged cocaine trafficking.
Colombian President Says He Will ‘Take Up Arms’ If US Military Attacks
(Left) President Donald Trump in the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. (Right) Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 19, 2024. Jim Watson, Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images
Jill McLaughlin
&
Melanie Sun
|Updated:
0:00

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday he will “take up arms again” if attacked, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that drug traffickers in Colombia could be the next target for the U.S. military.

After hours of silence, Petro accused U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio in an early morning post on X of believing “false information against the state” from several intelligence colonels in the Colombian police, whom he said he has since fired.
Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.