Bogotá, Colombia – As U.S. naval forces deploy unprecedented assets across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on neighboring Venezuela, claiming it is less about combating drug trafficking and more about securing access to the South American nation’s vast oil reserves. In an exclusive interview with CNN aired on November 25, 2025, Petro described oil as “at the heart of the matter,” highlighting Venezuela’s status as holder of the world’s largest proven oil reserves. This accusation comes amid a dramatic escalation in U.S. military operations in the region, which have included over 20 airstrikes on suspected drug vessels since September, resulting in at least 83 deaths. Petro’s remarks underscore deepening rifts between progressive Latin American leaders and the Trump White House, raising fears of broader instability in a hemisphere long plagued by narcotics flows and geopolitical maneuvering.
The interview, conducted in Bogotá by CNN’s Isa Soares, marked a rare direct confrontation from Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president since 2022, who has clashed repeatedly with U.S. President Donald Trump over immigration, foreign policy, and counternarcotics strategies. “So, that’s a negotiation about oil. I believe that is Trump’s logic. He’s not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking,” Petro stated, emphasizing that Venezuela produces negligible amounts of cocaine and serves only as a minor transit point for global drug routes. Data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) supports this assertion: Venezuela does not cultivate coca, the raw material for cocaine, and accounts for less than 10% of the drug’s transit to North America, with the majority—over 74%—flowing via Pacific routes from Colombia. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 Annual Cocaine Report echoes these findings, attributing 84% of seized U.S.-bound cocaine to Colombian origins, with no significant mention of Venezuelan production.
Petro’s critique arrives against a backdrop of intensified U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, the largest since the 1989 Panama invasion. On November 11, the USS Gerald R. Ford—the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, carrying over 4,000 sailors and dozens of fighter jets—entered the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility, accompanied by three guided-missile destroyers. This deployment, part of Operation Southern Spear, bolsters a force of approximately 15,000 U.S. personnel across Puerto Rico, El Salvador, and other regional bases, aimed at disrupting “narcotics trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the operations, which have targeted fast boats in international waters using drones, AC-130 gunships, and F-35 jets, as essential to countering cartels like Mexico’s Sinaloa group. However, critics, including the UN and human rights groups, have condemned the strikes as potential extrajudicial killings, noting the high civilian toll and lack of transparency in targeting evidence.
The broader U.S. strategy also encompasses sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom Washington accuses of leading the “Cartel de los Soles,” a military-linked narcotics network. On November 24, the State Department formally designated the cartel a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), enabling asset freezes and travel bans for associated individuals. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move on November 16, alleging the group, headed by Maduro and regime insiders, facilitates drug shipments to the U.S. in alliance with groups like Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry rejected the label as a “ridiculous fabrication,” insisting the cartel is a U.S.-invented pretext for regime change. Petro echoed this skepticism, telling CNN that Maduro’s core issue is “the lack of democracy,” but no Colombian probes have linked him directly to trafficking. He argued the U.S. narrative conflates authoritarianism with narco-involvement to justify intervention.
Relations between Petro and the Trump administration have deteriorated rapidly since January 2025. In September, the State Department revoked Petro’s U.S. visa after he joined a pro-Palestinian rally in New York during the UN General Assembly, where he urged American soldiers to “disobey Trump’s orders” and “not point their rifles at humanity.” Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla, framed the plea as a call against “oppression,” referencing U.S. special forces oaths, but Washington deemed it “reckless and incendiary.” The revocation, which Petro dismissed as irrelevant—he holds European citizenship—symbolized early frictions over U.S. support for Israel and immigration policies.
Tensions peaked in October when Trump halted all U.S. aid and subsidies to Colombia, valued at around $377 million annually, accusing Petro of doing “nothing to stop” record cocaine production. Days later, the Treasury Department sanctioned Petro, his wife, son, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti for allegedly enabling cartels through his “Total Peace” initiative, which prioritizes crop substitution over eradication. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed cocaine output had “exploded to the highest rate in decades” under Petro, “flooding the United States and poisoning Americans.” Petro rejected the charges as a “complete paradox,” noting his government seized a record 14 tons of cocaine in a single Buenaventura port bust on November 21—the largest in a decade—without fatalities. He attributed U.S. intransigence to “pride” and outdated views of him as a “subversive thug” due to his guerrilla past.
Despite the personal barbs, U.S. officials have sought to insulate bilateral ties from the Petro-Trump feud. Rubio emphasized on October 25 that sanctions target the president individually, not Colombia’s institutions or economy: “Our relationships with the people of Colombia, the economic sector... and their defense institutions are strong and enduring, and they’re going to be strong... long after this individual is no longer the president there.” This distinction aligns with decades of cooperation; Colombia remains a major non-NATO ally, receiving the bulk of U.S. Latin American aid for counternarcotics. Yet, Petro’s administration has decried the measures as “imperialistic,” comparing them to historical U.S. interventions. In a November 23 speech, he revived a challenge to Rubio: “If you want to put me in an orange jumpsuit, try it,” accusing the secretary of meddling via ties to Colombian opposition figures.
The Venezuela focus amplifies these strains. Maduro’s regime, isolated by U.S. sanctions since 2017, faces accusations of narco-terrorism, including a 2020 federal indictment of Maduro for cocaine conspiracy. Petro, who has pursued dialogue with Caracas, questioned the drug rationale, noting UNODC maps exclude Venezuela from production and that Pacific seizures dominate DEA stats. Analysts argue the U.S. buildup, including bases in El Salvador’s Comalapa for Pacific monitoring, targets real trafficking corridors but risks collateral damage and regional backlash. Caribbean nations like Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana have quietly backed the U.S., while Honduras and Nicaragua oppose it.
As Petro’s term winds down in 2026—amid sagging domestic approval—his defiance may rally leftists but alienate moderates. Trump, eyeing midterm gains, frames the campaign as protecting Americans from “poisoning” drugs, with Hegseth hinting at land options against Venezuela. Yet, with global cocaine production hitting 3,708 tons in 2023 per UNODC—up 34% from 2022—the root causes persist: poverty, weak institutions, and demand in the U.S. and Europe. Petro urged Americans to pressure their leaders for “solidarity” over extraction, warning that militarism echoes “empires” of old.
