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The Pentagon announced Sunday that U.S. forces killed three crew members aboard a vessel allegedly linked to Colombian leftist rebels, marking an apparent expansion of American military operations in South American waters and further straining relations between Washington and Bogotá.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Friday strike targeted a boat affiliated with Colombia's National Liberation Army, known as ELN, traveling in international waters within U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility. He did not specify the exact location, though Colombia borders both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
The attack comes as the United States has maintained a naval presence in the Caribbean since August, striking at least six vessels described as drug-running boats and killing at least 27 people. The flotilla, initially positioned off Venezuela's coast, has raised questions among legal experts about the legitimacy of attacking vessels in international waters without attempting arrests or seizures.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday he is terminating all U.S. financial assistance to Colombia, accusing President Gustavo Petro of enabling cocaine production despite what Trump called "large scale payments and subsidies from the USA."
"AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE" to Colombia, Trump wrote on Truth Social, repeatedly misspelling the country's name as "Columbia."
The aid cutoff represents a dramatic shift for a nation that received $740 million in U.S. assistance in 2023 — more than any other South American country. Half of that funding supported counter-narcotics efforts.
The escalating tensions mark the lowest point in decades between two nations long considered close allies. Trump labeled Petro "an illegal drug leader" and issued what appeared to be a veiled threat of intervention.
"Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely," Trump wrote.
Petro, a former guerrilla fighter who took office in 2022, responded sharply on X, writing: "Colombia has never been rude to the United States. To the contrary, it has loved its culture very much. But you are rude and ignorant about Colombia."
The Colombian president has consistently criticized U.S. naval operations in the region, accusing Washington of murder after a Colombian fisherman was killed in a September strike. As recently as Saturday, Petro renewed those accusations.
Relations have deteriorated rapidly in recent months. Washington decertified Colombia as a drug-war ally last month, prompting Bogotá to halt arms purchases from its largest military partner. The U.S. also revoked Petro's visa after he spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York during the U.N. General Assembly.
The Trump administration's broader naval deployment has created particular friction with Venezuela, where the U.S. maintains that leftist President Nicolás Maduro heads a drug cartel. Venezuelan officials and regional observers have expressed concern that regime change may be Washington's ultimate objective.
Since taking power, Petro has advocated for fundamentally rethinking the U.S.-led war on drugs, shifting focus from forced crop eradication toward addressing underlying social conditions that fuel trafficking. Under his administration, coca cultivation — the source of cocaine — has increased approximately 70 percent, according to Colombian government and United Nations estimates.
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