Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday that he is ready to “take up arms” if the US attacks his country following threats from President Trump.
Following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro over the weekend, Trump suggested Colombia — and Petro — may be America’s next target in his war on drug trafficking.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro hits back after President Trump’s warning. AP
Soldiers stand guard in Cucuta, Colombia, on January 4, 2026. AFP via Getty Images“I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the homeland, I will take up arms again,” Petro wrote on X.
“Know that you are facing a commander of the people. Free Colombian forever,” he added.
Petro also stressed that his forces have been tasked with defending him and all Colombian cities from foreign forces, with orders given to shoot “the invader.”
The leftist leader, who has clashed with Trump in the past, argued that his government was leading the charge against the illegal drug trade in the country, telling Trump an attack on him would only embolden the cartels.
Trump with Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on January 3, 2026. Getty ImagesPetro also warned Trump that bombing the cartels would endanger children and civilians that the groups use as human shields, which would spark a humanitarian crisis.
“If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children,” Petro said. “If you bomb peasants, thousands of guerrillas will return in the mountains.
“And if you arrest the president whom a good part of my people want and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar,” he added, referencing the Colombian people.
Nicolas Maduro was transported from Brookyn to Manhattan to attend his arraignment. GC ImagesPetro’s comments were a direct response to Trump’s warning that his Colombian counterpart should “watch his a–” after US troops raided Caracas and arrested Maduro and his wife.
Petro had condemned the operation and called for a UN Security Council hearing on Maduro’s arrest.
Along with threatening Petro, Trump described the Colombian president as “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
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Petro denied allegations that he is involved with any cartel group in Colombia, claiming full transparency over his finances.
Along with stressing caution for America, Petro also issued a warning to any Colombian officials who might betray him.
“Every soldier of Colombia has an order from now on: every commander of the public force who prefers the flag of the US to the flag of Colombia must immediately withdraw from the institution by order of the bases and the troops and mine,” Petro said. —
