President Donald Trump announced Sunday he would end all US payments and subsidies to Colombia, marking a dramatic escalation in his back-and-forth with the country’s president, Gustavo Petro.
Trump said in a post to social media that Petro “does nothing to stop” the production of drugs in his country, “despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America.”
“As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment, or subsidies, will no longer be made to Colombia,” the president said in all caps.
The two leaders have clashed on the issues of migration and drug trafficking, especially as the US conducts strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, but Sunday’s announcement intensified the friction with new financial stakes.
The US has provided about $210 million in assistance to Colombia this fiscal year, including about $31 million in agricultural support, according to data from the US Department of State. It was not immediately clear which payments Trump was referring to Sunday, but the US is by far the largest funder of Colombia’s security, providing billions of dollars every year. The Andean country had previously been Washington’s most reliable ally in South America on national security and defense.
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