BOGOTA—Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) complained about the exclusion of his country —the world’s biggest cocaine producer— from a new US-led military alliance to combat drug cartels.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday used a summit with Latin American leaders to launch a 17-nation coalition that he said would “eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region.”
The summit, held at Trump’s Florida golf club, included right-wing allies from the region.
The left-wing presidents of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil— countries that play a key role in the global drug trade—were not invited.
Petro criticized his country’s exclusion from the alliance, which includes Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina, Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador.
“In the case of cocaine, Colombia is essential because of its experience,” Petro, who has regularly crossed swords with Trump, said at an event in Austria’s capital Vienna.
“With 17 small, weak, and inexperienced countries, you can’t create a shield” against drug violence, Petro added, referring to Saturday’s “Shield of the Americas” summit.
Trump has made combatting drug trafficking a cornerstone of his Americas policy
Petro has criticized Washington’s campaign of deadly missile attacks on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, saying the United States has not provided evidence they were involved in drug trafficking.
He was also fiercely critical of Trump’s overthrow of Venezuela’s authoritarian socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.
During months of estrangement, Trump imposed financial sanctions on Petro for allegedly failing to curb his country’s cocaine production.
But the two smoothed things over last month during a meeting at the White House, where they agreed to coordinate their efforts against Colombian drug cartels and guerrilla groups.
