Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Trump of meddling in his country’s elections
In less than two weeks, Colombians will go to the polls in the next election to choose between an outsider to the right endorsed by President Trump, and a leftist congressman who promises to deepen the policies and legacy of current President Gustavo Petro.
Days after far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella finished first in Sunday’s vote with 43.7% of the vote, followed by leftist Iván Cepeda with 40.9%, Petro sat down with CBS News to discuss his alternative anti-drug strategy.
Petro defended his record on the cultivation of coca, the basic substance of cocaine. He called the approval of Mr. Trump denounced it as an act of meddling and accused Washington of abandoning cooperation on the anti-drug mission for ideological reasons. Petro warned that if the right comes to power, Colombia will face a wave of political violence.
Human rights organizations have found that under the Petro Administration, the membership, territorial control and violent power of organized crime groups have flourished.
Petro calls Trump “interventionist” in politics
Mr Trump campaigned in the Colombian election after De la Espriella won the first round. In a diplomatic letter, he gave de la Espriella “Full and Complete Approval,” and warned that “The results of this election are very important for the future of Colombia and its relationship with the United States.”
“Our republics are based on the principles of freedom and sovereignty,” said Petro, saying that the US government is aligned with narco-paramilitarism, emphasizing Mr. who was recently pardoned Mr. Trump.
Petro said that the disagreement between his administration and the White House has come “because we are progressing, because we are on the left, and because we do not agree on issues like Gaza.”
He pointed out that the US has chosen to side with his government and the forces identified as being involved in the drug trade.
Anyway, Petro he hopes to maintain peaceful terms and the Trump administration, which allowed Petro personallyrevoked his US visa again a criminal investigation has been signed. According to a Colombian official working with Petro, he will no longer meet with the Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, as he had originally planned when he attended the United Nations.
In a statement provided to CBS News, Mayor’s office spokesperson Ivonne Rodriguez said: “We understand that President Petro will return to Colombia earlier than expected, and the meeting between Mayor Mamdani and the President will not take place during this visit. But President Petro is always welcome in New York City and the Mayor continues to be interested in discussing how to improve dignity and democracy here in Colombia.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said in recent weeks that Colombia’s current government is “a problem,” while calling most of the region “full of American allies.” He also said that the US will be “very strong in ensuring that there are free and fair elections in Colombia.”
“In Colombia, hate causes quick death”
When asked about the violence and who is causing it, Petro defended himself. He emphasized that the homicide rate in Colombia has remained stable during his administration, citing figures of 25 to 26 homicides per 100,000 people.
What has changed, he said, is the structure of that violence. “Sicariato” or contract killings, has increased, he said, while what he calls “social crime” or crime “from society itself,” has decreased. He did not deny that gangs have grown stronger on his watch.
When asked if he takes responsibility for the necessary changes in Colombia stemming from the increase in violence, due to the failure of peace talks with terrorist groups, he pointed to Colombia’s long history of apartheid and global deception campaigns that he says make people see political opponents as enemies.
“In Colombia, hatred causes death quickly,” he said. “Promoting hate speech, as is happening these days, ‘gat the progressives…’ creates unstoppable violence in this country.”
The problem of the increase in coca
Under Petro, the forced abolition of coca collapsed. Annual data for the last year of President Iván Duque in 2022 show that Colombian authorities eliminated 130,000 hectares of coca. Under Petro, that number dropped to 9,000, a drop of more than 90%, which Petro does not dispute.
“I don’t want to be forced out because it doesn’t work,” he told CBS News, arguing that “the money is being stolen.”
His approach, instead, involved talking to rural communities and pursuing voluntary crop rotation.
“I have stopped identifying farmers who are emerging in the areas,” said Petro. “I stopped detonating bombs, burning down their houses, evicting them by force and putting them in prison. Instead, I started talking to them and took the opportunity that they trust me because I am a progressive person. What did I gain? I settled down.”
Petro accompanied CBS News with images showing a gradual decline in coca cultivation from 2024, but Daniel Mejía, a professor at the Universidad de los Andes who has advised many Colombian governments on anti-drug policy, questioned the numbers.
Mejía said that this is the first government in 27 years to delay the publication of the United Nations statistics on coca plantations for more than a year. Emerging data shows coca cultivation in Colombia to increase by at least 9,000 hectares by 2024, reaching approximately 262,000 hectares. The data provided for the years since then comes from the government. Petro’s answer was that his government uses the same method as the UN
That answer doesn’t satisfy Mejía, nor does Petro’s broader argument that plant replacement works where forced extinctions have failed. The government has never funded it, he said.
“They have a different way; that’s fine. But do it that way,” Mejía said.
According to Mejía, spending on Colombian plant replacement and other development programs did not exceed 15% of the budget in any of the first three full years of Petro’s government. In some years, it has dropped to 8%. Mejía explains that Petro left the stick and did not use the carrot.
What happens next?
The 1.6 million votes received by Paloma Valencia, the regular third-place finisher, have been tallied. Valencia endorsed de la Espriella, although his running mate, leftist politician Juan Daniel Oviedo, still has not.
De la Espriella did very well in his votes with 43.3% in the first round compared to Cepeda’s 40.5%. He is slightly favored to enter the competition.
If he wins, he has promised to resume widespread aerial spraying of coca plantations, a practice banned in Colombia since 2015. He advocates pursuing boat strikes against suspected drug traffickers and bringing a security doctrine to Colombia similar to that of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
Petro argues that by supporting the right wing, the US is “losing potential allies in the fight against drug trafficking.” Instead, he feels he is undermining the Trump administration because of his progressive politics.
