By Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Symmes Cobb
BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia’s foreign ministry said early on Monday the country has recalled its ambassador from the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on Colombia and stop all payments to the South American nation, in a feud that stems from the U.S. military’s strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs.
Trump also called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” on Sunday, an accusation Petro’s government said was offensive.
“Daniel Garcia-Pena, Ambassador of Colombia in the United States of America, has been recalled for consultations by President Gustavo Petro and is now in Bogota,” the Colombian foreign ministry said. “In the coming hours the national government will inform of the decisions taken.”
Trump’s drug dealer comments marked a new low in relations between Washington and Bogota, which Trump accuses of being complicit in the illicit drug trade.
Petro has objected to the U.S. military’s strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, which have killed dozens of people and inflamed tensions in the region. Many legal experts and human rights activists have also condemned the military actions.
Trump said U.S. financial aid to Colombia would be cut off and details about the new tariffs would be unveiled on Monday, but it was not clear what funding Trump was referring to.
Colombia was once among the largest recipients of U.S. aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of money was suddenly curtailed this year by the shuttering of USAID, the U.S. government’s humanitarian arm.
Colombia currently pays 10% tariffs on most imports to the United States, the baseline level Trump has imposed on many countries.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Symmes Cobb)
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