Trump Blasts Colombian President As ‘Lunatic, Drug Leader’ While Vowing New Tariffs

President Trump has put Colombia on notice, and will hit the South American nation with new tariffs. He has further charged President Gustavo Petro with being an “illegal drug leader,“ saying the US will also halt all aid to the country.

Trump asserted Sunday on social media that drug trafficking “has become the biggest business in Colombia” and said Petro “does nothing to stop it” despite years of US funding. “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS… WILL NO LONGER BE MADE,” the US president wrote.

All of this came after earlier on Sunday President Trump confirmed that US forces previously “destroyed a very large drug-carrying submarine” off the coast of Venezuela – the sixth such strike on alleged narco-vessels in recent weeks. 

In follow-up while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump officially confirmed what Senator Lindsey Graham had hinted at earlier, saying further details about the tariffs would be released Monday.

Senator Graham said on X that he’d a “very good conversation” with Trump, during which the president vowed to “hit Colombia not only by going after its drug traffickers but also where it hurts most – in its economy.”

Soon after Trump while speaking to reporters decried Colombia as being “out of control” and that “they have the worst president they’ve ever had - a lunatic with serious mental problems.”

Colombia has alleged that among the latest strikes in the south Caribbean was a fishing vessel carrying a Colombian national who was severely injured. But there’s been some confusion over precisely which strike it was.

But speaking to reporters, Trump said “This submarine had one purpose – to transport massive quantities of drugs.” But it appears Colombia is making the allegation about a prior attack, and not the submarine incident.

He added: “They’re producing enormous amounts of cocaine, shipping it worldwide, and destroying countless families.”

Q: The Columbian president says that the US killed an innocent Columbia fisherman

TRUMP: He said that when we shot down a submarine that they were just fishing. This was a submarine that was meant for one reason — to carry massive amounts of drugs

Q: He’s talking about a… pic.twitter.com/FW4O92le14

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 20, 2025

And yet…

The two survivors of an American military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean will be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday.

The military rescued the pair after striking a submersible vessel Thursday, in what was at least the sixth such attack since early September.

Seeking to prove the US narrative of things, Trump and the Pentagon’s public affairs team both shared a video showing US air assets destroying the “drug-carrying submarine.” However, no details were provided regarding the type of aircraft or weapons used in the strike. Some analysts have questioned the legality of such ‘executions’ on the high seas, without warning or attempt to intercept.