Colombia’s President Petro Claps Back at Trump Over Migrant Row: ‘One Day, Over Whiskey’

Colombia’s President Petro Claps Back at Trump Over Migrant Row: Colombia's President, Gustavo Petro, criticized US President Donald Trump regarding his policies and purported racial attitudes, as the two countries narrowly averted a full-scale trade war following Bogotá's decision to accept migrant deportation flights from the United States.

In a social media update, Petro expressed his hope for an eventual conversation with Trump "over a glass of whiskey," while noting the challenges posed by Trump's perception of him as “inferior.”

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In an extensive post that gained significant attention on X, Colombia’s first leftist president condemned Trump's approach toward Bogotá and threatened potential tariffs. However, his administration later reversed its position on the matter.

“You will kill me, but I will survive in my people, which is before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea and freedom,” Petro said on X.

The White House subsequently announced it would suspend retaliation measures against Colombia after Bogotá softened its previous stance. The Colombian government requested that the United States refrain from implementing “degrading treatment” of migrants and urged for improved protocols.

Trump's initial retaliatory options included a proposed 25% tariff on all imports from Colombia—rising to 50% within one week—as well as travel bans and visa cancellations targeted at Colombian officials; financial sanctions were also considered.

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Slams Trump for ‘greed’

Petro maintained that discussing matters with Trump could prove challenging due to what he claimed was Trump's view of Colombians as an “inferior race.”

“I don't like your oil, Trump, you are going to wipe out the human species because of greed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey, which I accept, despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but it's difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I'm not, nor is any Colombian,” Petro wrote.

Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, allí ví una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me pareció una pendejada,…

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025

He emphasized that such threats would not intimidate him, asserting his commitment to resist any adversarial actions. Petro stated that Colombia has moved away from seeking approval from its northern neighbor and suggested a collaborative response among nations in the Americas if Trump attempted to challenge his presidency.

“You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers. I shake hands with the white libertarian heirs of Lincoln and the black and white farm boys of the USA, at whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield, which I reached after walking the mountains of Italian Tuscany and after being saved from Covid,” Petro added.

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