President Gustavo Petro takes a dig at Donald Trump: "He's using drug trafficking as an excuse for a military invasion."

During the meeting of the member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACTO), held on August 22, President Gustavo Petro launched a barb against the President of the United States, Donald Trump , and his recent decision to send ships to the coast of Venezuela.

" Drug trafficking is being used as an excuse for a military invasion ," Petro stated in his speech, referring to a somewhat different topic: the presence of armed groups dedicated to drug trafficking in the Amazon rainforest.

The Colombian president spoke without naming names, but made clear reference to the strategy deployed by the United States in the vicinity of Venezuela.

"It is absolutely essential that the defense ministries, armies, and police intelligence agencies of South America and the Caribbean coordinate to confront drug trafficking and mafias, without this becoming an excuse for foreign invasions ," he noted.

US President Donald Trump has deployed three warships near the coast of Venezuela as part of his efforts to combat drug trafficking, a source familiar with the operation told AFP on Wednesday, August 20.

The deployment comes after the Trump administration increased the reward to $50 million for "information leading to the arrest" of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is accused by U.S. justice systems of alleged ties to drug trafficking.

The three vessels, equipped with Aegis guided missile systems, are heading toward waters in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, the source, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

The US press reported that Washington also planned to send some 4,000 marines.

Washington rejects Maduro's last two presidential reelections and accuses him of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which it considers a criminal organization.

The White House said Tuesday that Trump would use "every means" to stop drug trafficking when asked about the possibility of deploying troops to the Latin American country.

Speaking to other regional leaders, including Lula da Silva and Luis Arce, Petro proposed the creation of a security conference for South America, Latin America, and the Caribbean to design joint strategies to address common threats such as drug trafficking, the weakening of democracy, and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

"Drug trafficking not only undermines democracies, as in Haiti, but also threatens to destroy the Amazon and, with it, cause global climate collapse. The security of the rainforest is the security of humanity," he insisted.

Petro's statements come just days after he defended the Venezuelan president through his X account, dismissing the existence of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles."

"The ones who control cocaine trafficking through Venezuela are not the 'Cartel of the Suns.' That's a lie, like Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and it only serves to invade countries," he said in the tweet.

The Colombian president added that the drug trafficking routes that pass through Venezuela are controlled by the same groups that operate in Colombian territories, such as Catatumbo, the Llanos, and the Bogotá Savannah. According to Petro, these structures have been known to US and European intelligence agencies for some time.

María Paula Rodríguez Rozo

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