October 21, 2025 | 09:50 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Colombia announced the withdrawal of its ambassador from Washington on Monday, following US President Donald Trump's threat to impose higher tariffs on the South American country and halt all payments to it. This further exacerbated the feud that originated from the US military attack on vessels suspected of trafficking drugs.
Trump also labeled Colombia's left-wing President, Gustavo Petro, as an "illegal drug leader" on Sunday. The statement, deemed offensive by Petro's government, marked a new low in the relationship between Bogota and Washington.
"Daniel Garcia-Pena, Ambassador of Colombia in the United States of America, has been recalled for consultations by President Gustavo Petro and is now in Bogota," the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, as reported by CNA and Al Jazeera.
"In the coming hours the national government will inform of the decisions taken."
The escalating feud between the two countries centered on the US assault in the Caribbean on ships alleged by the Trump administration to be transporting drugs, mainly from Venezuela. The attack, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and widely seen as a violation of US and international law, has drawn fierce criticism from Petro.
Petro has voiced objections to the US military's attacks on ships in the Caribbean, which have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and heightened tensions in the region. Many legal experts and human rights activists have also condemned the military action.
Trump said US financial aid to Colombia would be halted, and details of new tariffs would be announced on Monday, but it is unclear what funding Trump was referring to.
Colombia has been one of the largest recipients of US aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of funds was abruptly disrupted this year by the closure of USAID, the US government's humanitarian agency.
As of Monday evening, the Trump administration has not made any tariff announcements, but Petro has met with US Chargé d'Affaires John McNamara at the presidential palace. No details of the meeting are available.
COLOMBIA'S LARGEST TRADING PARTNER
The oil-producing country currently pays a 10 percent tariff for most imports to the US, the base rate imposed by Trump on many countries.
The US is Colombia's main trading partner, and shipments northward account for 35 percent of the South American country's exports, according to the Colombia-America Chamber of Commerce. While 70 percent of imports from the US are goods not produced in Colombia.
The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pledged to seek international support for Petro, who first rose to fame as a senator by exposing the relationship between right-wing paramilitary groups involved in drug trafficking and corrupt politicians, as well as for the autonomy of the country.
On Sunday, Petro denounced a new bombing on a ship that killed three people, stating that the ship belonged to a "humble family," and not the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group, as claimed by US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth.
"Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the United States ... but you are rude and ignorant to Colombia," Petro said at X.
"Since I am not a businessman, I am even less a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart."
Petro has vowed to pacify the country's coca-producing regions with massive social and military intervention, but the strategy has yielded little success.
The Colombian currency closed 1.28 percent weaker at 3,883 pesos per US dollar in Monday's trading.
Colombia, a major exporter of oil, coal, coffee, flowers, and bananas, recorded a trade deficit of US$338 million with the US between January and July, according to the government statistics agency DANE.
US investors have injected US$2.27 billion into Colombia in the first half of this year, according to central bank figures, about 34 percent of the total foreign investment received during that period.
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