President Donald Trump’s latest feud over drug trafficking with a leader of a South American nation – this time, Colombian President Gustavo Petro – may very well end up increasing drug trafficking, warned one security analyst in a report from The New York Times on Tuesday.
Trump sparked his feud with Petro last week after issuing a menacing threat on social media, warning the Colombian leader that his nation risked U.S. intervention if he did not “close up” its drug production operations. He went on to allege Petro was complicit in a mass operation to traffic drugs into the United States, and called him “low rated and very unpopular.”
Furthermore, Trump announced that all foreign aid to Colombia would be halted immediately, and labeled Petro as an “illegal drug leader.”
Much of U.S. foreign aid to Colombia supports the country’s security operations, much of which is focused heavily on combating armed groups largely responsible for its drug production, particularly cocaine.
“The security situation in Colombia is a boiling pot,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, a security analyst and senior analyst for Colombia, speaking with the Times.
“Up until now, the security forces are sort of barely keeping the lid on it. Very quickly, if the U.S. cooperation stops, the security forces will no longer be able to fulfill that mission. The threat will greatly outstrip the capacity to control it.”
Dickson went on to argue that U.S. intelligence officials would be “flying blind” in their efforts to combat drug trafficking should the cooperation between the two nations come to a halt.
Petro is just the latest South American leader who has drawn the ire of Trump, whose administration is currently escalating tensions with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, all of whom have been openly critical of the U.S. government, and in particular, the Trump administration.