President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States would immediately end foreign aid to Colombia following remarks by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who accused the U.S. of committing “murder” during a recent military strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel.

Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, saying that the Colombian government had engaged in what he called “a long term rip off of America.”

The decision follows escalating tensions between Washington and Bogotá over U.S. military operations targeting narcotics networks in the Caribbean and South America.

“President Gustavo Petro, of Colombia, is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia,” Trump wrote.

“It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America. AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.”

Trump continued, “The purpose of this drug production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc. Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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The exchange came one day after Petro posted a statement on X criticizing the United States for conducting air and sea strikes on suspected narcotics traffickers.

In his post, Petro accused the U.S. of carrying out “murders” against Colombians after American intelligence identified a vessel believed to be transporting drugs northward.

On Sunday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth released a video showing the U.S. military strike that destroyed a boat with three suspected drug traffickers aboard.

According to Hegseth, intelligence linked the men to the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, or ELN), a Marxist guerrilla and narcotics organization that has operated in Colombia for decades.

Hegseth said the strike was part of a continuing effort to target drug-smuggling routes and dismantle cartel-linked maritime networks in the Western Hemisphere.

On October 17th, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), a Designated Terrorist Organization, that was operating in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.

The… pic.twitter.com/1v7oR879LC

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 19, 2025

The Trump administration has carried out a series of military actions against narcotics traffickers since early September.

On September 2, U.S. forces intercepted and sank a vessel carrying 11 members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).

That operation was the first in what defense officials described as a new campaign aimed at curbing transnational drug networks and blocking their entry points into the United States.

The aggressive counter-narcotics strategy has faced pushback from Democrats and some members of the Senate, including Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who raised concerns about the scope of military engagement.

However, the Senate voted on October 8 to block an attempt to halt the strikes, allowing the operations to continue under the President’s directive.

President Trump’s decision to cut foreign aid to Colombia marks a significant shift in U.S. policy toward one of its traditional allies in Latin America.

Colombia has received billions of dollars in U.S. assistance over the past two decades, primarily for counter-narcotics and security programs under initiatives such as Plan Colombia.

Trump also reminded the public that his administration took an aggressive approach to international drug enforcement from the outset.

Hours after taking office on January 20, 2025, he issued an executive order designating several major criminal networks—including Mexico’s drug cartels, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and El Salvador’s MS-13—as foreign terrorist organizations.

Officials said the designation allowed U.S. forces broader authority to target cartel-linked operations abroad and to classify their activities as acts of terrorism under federal law.

Neither the Colombian government nor the U.S. Department of State issued an immediate response to Trump’s announcement Sunday.

The suspension of aid takes effect immediately, with future bilateral cooperation expected to be reviewed in the coming weeks.