Colombia on Monday said its ambassador to the United States had been recalled, as a public feud between the nations' leaders heats up with President Donald Trump revoking aid and threatening punishing tariffs.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has objected to the US military's strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, which have killed dozens of people and inflamed tensions in the region.
Trump on Sunday vowed to end aid to the South American nation, a historically close US partner, accusing his leftist Colombian counterpart of being an "illegal drug leader".
He also said he would be making an announcement on tariffs targeting Colombia on Monday. The oil-producing nation currently pays 10 percent tariffs on most imports to the US, the baseline level Trump has imposed on many countries.
Read moreUS revokes visa for Colombian President Petro over 'incendiary' comments
Colombia's interior minister on Monday voiced anger at Trump for threatening what he described as a potential "invasion" of his country.
Trump had angrily lashed out on Sunday at Petro, saying on social media that he "better close up" drug cultivation sites, "or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely".
In a Blu Radio interview, Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti called the remarks a "threat of invasion or military action against Colombia".
"I can't imagine closing down some hectares unless it's in that way, unless it's by invading," he said.
The threats came as the United States announced it had struck another alleged drug-running vessel in international waters, killing three people.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth alleged that the boat was affiliated with a Colombian armed group, the National Liberation Army.
Petro on Sunday condemned the bombing, saying the boat belonged to a "humble family".
That strike came on the heels of another attack – on a semi-submersible vessel – that left two survivors, one of whom was Colombian.
US-Colombia drug trade feud escalates
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Colombia's foreign ministry has vowed to seek international support for Petro, who first rose to prominence as a senator by exposing links between right-wing paramilitary groups involved in drug trafficking and corrupt politicians, as well as for the country's autonomy.
Petro, who has clashed with Trump since the US leader returned to power in January, has fiercely criticised the deadly anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean.
He has accused Trump of murder and of violating Colombia's sovereignty.
Colombia's Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena has already returned to Bogota, the foreign ministry said Monday in a statement, adding Petro's government would be making further announcements during the day.
Until now, Colombia has received more US aid than any other country in South America – $740 million in 2023, according to US government figures. Half of this went to fighting drug trafficking.
The harsh verbal exchanges have taken relations between two historic allies to their lowest point in decades.
Last month, Washington announced it had decertified Colombia as an ally in the fight against drugs. Colombia hit back by halting arms purchases from the United States, its biggest military partner.
Since coming to power in 2022, leftist Petro has championed a paradigm shift in the US-led war on drugs, away from forced eradication to focus on the social problems that fuel drug trafficking.
Under his watch, cultivation of coca, the raw material of cocaine, has increased by about 70 percent, according to the Colombian government and United Nations estimates.
Colombia, a big exporter of oil, coal, coffee, flowers and bananas, posted a $338 million trade deficit with the US between January and July, according to government statistics agency DANE.
Investors from the US invested $2.27 billion in Colombia in the first half of the year, according to central bank figures, some 34 percent of total foreign investment received during that period.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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