Petro meets with the US chargé d'affaires amid the diplomatic crisis

Colombia.- The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, met this Monday at the Casa de Nariño, the Executive headquarters in Bogotá, with the chargé d'affaires of the United States, John McNamara, amid the escalation of diplomatic tension between both countries.

The Colombian Presidency reported on the meeting on X, where it published a photograph in which Petro and McNamara appear conversing, without offering further details about the content of the meeting. Hours earlier, in an interview with Univision, Petro insisted on his criticisms of the American president and stated that "(Donald) Trump is not king in Colombia" nor can he "impose his will on a democratic government". The Colombian ambassador to Washington, Daniel García-Peña, was summoned today for consultations, after Trump announced the end of financial aid to Colombia for its alleged inaction in the fight against drugs, accused Petro of being "a drug trafficking leader" and warned that he planned to impose trade reprisals.

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Although Trump's economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, moderated his tone this Monday by stating that there are no immediate plans to raise tariffs on Colombia, the warning worried Bogota and the private sector. The United States is Colombia's main trading partner, and since 2012, both countries have maintained a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), although Petro today considered it suspended since April, when Washington included Colombia in its trade war and imposed tariffs of 10%.