Colombia said on Monday it has recalled its ambassador from Washington after US President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on the country and called President Gustavo Petro a “drug leader”, worsening a diplomatic row following US military strikes in the Caribbean.
Colombia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Ambassador Daniel García-Peña had been recalled for consultations and had arrived in Bogotá. It added that the government would soon announce further steps.
“Daniel Garcia-Peña, Ambassador of Colombia in the United States of America, has been recalled for consultations by President Gustavo Petro and is now in Bogotá,” the foreign ministry said. “In the coming hours the national government will inform of the decisions taken,” it added.
Trump said on Sunday that he would raise tariffs on Colombia and cut all US payments to the country. He accused Petro’s leftist government of being involved in drug trafficking.
Trump’s remarks spark diplomatic tension
Trump’s description of Petro as a “drug leader” marks a new low in relations between the two countries. The Colombian government said the comments were “offensive”.
Petro has criticised the US military’s recent strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea, which Washington says were used to move drugs. The bombings, which killed several people, have drawn criticism from human rights groups and legal experts.
On social media platform X, Petro responded: “Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the United States … but you are rude and ignorant to Colombia. Since I am not a businessman, I am even less a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart.”
Trade ties under strain
The US is Colombia’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 35% of its exports, mainly oil, coal, coffee, flowers and bananas, according to the Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce. About 70% of imports from the US are goods not produced in Colombia.
Trump said the details of new tariffs would be announced later on Monday but did not specify which US funding would be halted. Colombia used to be one of the largest recipients of US aid in Latin America, though those funds fell sharply this year after USAID closed operations in the country.
Colombia currently faces a 10% tariff on most exports to the US, a standard rate Trump has applied to many countries.
Colombia seeks international backing
Colombia’s foreign ministry said it would look for international support for Petro and defend the country’s autonomy. Petro, a former senator who once exposed ties between paramilitary groups and corrupt politicians, has pledged to reduce coca cultivation through social and military programmes, though progress has been limited.
Petro also condemned a recent US bombing that killed three people, saying the targeted vessel belonged to a “humble family” and not the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group, as the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had claimed.
According to Colombia’s statistics agency DANE, the country recorded a $338 million trade deficit with the US between January and July this year. US investors contributed $2.27 billion in the first half of 2025 34% of Colombia’s total foreign investment, according to the central bank.
