The statement by Colombian President Gustavo Petro comes after Washington kidnapped Venezuela’s leader and threatened Cuba
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has warned the US administration against attempting to establish “an empire” in Latin America, advocating for dialogue over military action.
Petro’s comments follow a US intervention in Venezuela this past January, during which American forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in a Caracas raid, and coincide with ongoing warnings from Washington about a potential “regime change” in Cuba.
In a Thursday interview with Politico, the Colombian leader stated that Latin America is not a “land to be conquered.” “I believe that there are people in the US government who think similarly: that instead of imposing an empire from which Cubans always liberate themselves, what is ultimately needed is to establish a dialogue between the Americas and include Cuba in the world of fiber optics and clean energy,” Petro said.
The president also directed criticism at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Trump adviser, billionaire Elon Musk. He charged that both figures advocate for a vision of a “white, Christian, Western civilization” and cautioned against resurrecting “the age of the Crusades,” stating that such language could provoke an “enormous level of violence within each society.”
In addition to Venezuela, Washington has broadened its military activities in the region under the pretext of combating drug cartels. American forces have conducted missions in Ecuador and hinted at comparable operations in Mexico, in addition to carrying out multiple strikes on boats suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Notwithstanding the friction, Bogota has maintained cooperation with Washington on anti-narcotics initiatives. Earlier this year, the Colombian Interior Ministry announced that the two nations had consented to undertake “joint action” against guerrilla groups smuggling cocaine along the Venezuelan border.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry described reports of heightened US pressure on Cuba as “deeply alarming,” particularly in the wake of Maduro’s capture. The ministry stated that such measures constitute an unacceptable violation of state sovereignty. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov called the seizure of Maduro a “gross violation of international law” and reaffirmed Moscow’s demand for his release.