Colombia Recalls Ambassador After U.S. Strikes, Tariff Threats

Colombia has recalled its ambassador to the United States, Daniel García‑Peña, for consultations after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly called President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader," threatened to end U.S. payments and announced plans to raise tariffs on Colombia. The diplomatic rupture follows a dispute over recent U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean that Washington says targeted drug traffickers but which Bogotá says killed civilians and violated Colombian sovereignty; Petro condemned the strikes as murder. Bogotá described Trump’s comments as offensive and has warned it may take further measures, while officials say the row risks a serious breakdown in long‑standing U.S.–Colombia security and counter‑narcotics cooperation. Human-rights and legal experts have criticized the strikes, and the episode has already included reciprocal diplomatic moves earlier this year. The dispute has raised uncertainty over trade, aid and future cooperation between the two countries.