By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Reason? The Largest Oil Reserves in the World

As US military activity ramps up in the Caribbean and the Pacific, Colombia’s president alleged the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Venezuela is more about accessing the South American country’s oil than fighting drug trafficking.

“(Oil) is at the heart of the matter,” Gustavo Petro said in an interview, noting that Venezuela has what are considered the largest oil reserves in the world.

“So, that’s a negotiation about oil. I believe that is (US President Donald) Trump’s logic. He’s not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking,” he continued, adding that Venezuela is not considered a major drug producer and that only a relatively small portion of the global drugs trade flows through the country.

Petro has been at odds with Trump since he returned to the White House. In the past year, the Colombian leader has harshly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies, its support for Israel, and its military activity around Latin America.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is interviewed on November 25

On Tuesday, 25 November, he accused the US of trying to impose its will on its neighbors, comparing its actions to imperialism. “The United States cannot be considered an empire, but one of the nations among others,” the president said.

Asked if he had a message to the American people, Petro replied, “My message is the one they give to all members of the United States special forces: Your function, as they say in the oaths, is to fight against oppression. I repeated that on the streets in the United States, and it also cost me,” Petro said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro addresses pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside U.N. headquarters in New York City on September 26, 2025.

The United States announced it would cancel the visa of Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Friday, after he publicly called on its soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump, further straining relations between Washington and Bogota.

He appeared to be referring to the US State Department revoking his visa at the conclusion of the UN General Assembly in September after he publicly called on American soldiers to disobey Trump and “not to point their rifles at humanity.”

It’s one of the many actions the Trump administration has taken against the Colombian leader in recent months.

In October, the US Treasury sanctioned Petro, accusing him of playing a “role in the global illicit drug trade,” a claim the Colombian leader has rejected.

The sanctions were imposed days after Trump said he would halt all US payments and subsidies to Colombia, claiming Petro “does nothing to stop” the production of drugs in his country.

Afterwards, the US State Department said in a post on X: “Earlier today, Colombian president (Gustavo Petro) stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.

“We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.”

In response, Petro said the United States’ decision “breaks all the norms of immunity on which the functioning of the United Nations and its General Assembly is based.”

“The fact that the Palestinian Authority was not allowed entry and that my visa was revoked for asking the US and Israeli armies not to support a genocide, which is a crime against all humanity, demonstrates that the US government no longer complies with international law,” he posted on X.

Colombia’s Caracol Radio reported that Petro had already boarded a flight to leave the US when the State Department announced it would revoke his visa.

During his address at the UN, Petro also called for “criminal proceedings” over the deadly US strikes on suspected drug traffickers in international waters around South America.

Since September, the Trump administration has conducted over 20 lethal strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, alleging that the boats were carrying drugs from South America. The administration is attempting to cloak these maritime strikes in the guise of counterterrorism efforts, labelling the victims as narco-terrorists and equating the drug cartels to supposed terrorist organizations. And many Americans, who may be inured to lethal drone strikes and targeted killings after two decades of U.S. government action against Islamic militants, might simply regard the Trump administration’s boat attacks as more of the same.

In reality, however, they are a new and dangerous development in the use of force. Beyond the human toll, more than 80 individuals have been killed without due process over three months, and the risk that the strikes are a prelude to a direct U.S. military intervention in Venezuela signals a broader threat to security at home and abroad. The administration, by asserting its prerogative to use military force, not only without congressional authorization but also seemingly outside the law altogether, is tearing down the legal guardrails around the will of the U.S. president.

Colombian soldiers take part in an operation to eradicate illicit crops in Tumaco, Narino, Department, Colombia.

The US military killed three people in another deadly strike on a vessel in international waters around South America, allegedly “transporting illegal narcotics” from Venezuela, President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday.

“This morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narco-terrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The Strike occurred while these confirmed narco-terrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US,” Trump said.

“These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital US Interests,” he added. “The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this Strike.”

Monday’s announcement comes just under two weeks after the US military killed 11 individuals in a strike allegedly tied to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. The Trump administration has provided little detail regarding the action. When pushed for answers days after the strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to provide any specifics and said the US had “the absolute and complete authority to conduct that.”

 

 

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