Posted on 10/21/2025 1:48:27 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Summary
WASHINGTON/BOGOTA, Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's threat this week to slap Colombia with tariffs over its drug policy marked a sharp escalation in his feud with a country that has long been one of Washington's closest Latin American allies.
It was also a rejection of an established idea about countering the narcotics business: that free trade can make legitimate exports more attractive than drug trafficking.
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On Sunday, Trump said he would raise tariffs and stop financial aid for Bogota, and Colombia said on Monday it had recalled its ambassador from Washington. Most imports from Colombia to the U.S. currently face a 10% tariff, the baseline level Trump has imposed on many countries.
Trump also called leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader," after Petro accused the U.S. of committing "murder" and said the U.S. had fired at a boat off Venezuela that belonged to a "humble family," not a rebel group.
Tensions between the U.S. and many countries in Latin America have been escalating for weeks, as the American military has sharply increased its military presence in the southern Caribbean and struck vessels in international waters that it alleges to be carrying drugs, without offering evidence.
For decades, the U.S. has pursued a dual strategy to help Colombia fight its powerful drug cartels.
One part of the approach revolved around military and security assistance and the other was trade and economic assistance, including a 1991 trade deal that gave Andean countries duty free access to U.S. markets to...
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Rooters - rooting for the drug lords.
Reuters founder has a very interesting story.
“...free trade can make legitimate exports more attractive than drug trafficking.”
Yes, the market is here, but the government of Columbia needs to realize that America, under President Trump is no longer willing to let things be when it comes to their shipping their drugs here.
I might well be wrong, but I believe that Trump is actually an altruist who sincerely wants to improve the lives of his countrymen.
When Trump ran against the Beast Colombians where solid Trump. Still are.
“You can sell us illegal narcotics or you can sell us legitimate goods from companies that you financed with sales of laundered money from those sales of narcotics, but you can’t sell us both.”
“Our Communist China partners insist we don’t allow your cocaine from South America to compete with their fentanyl.”
BS!
No matter. Trump is playing three dimensional chess with Colombia.
More winning!
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