Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said on Thursday that a suspension of aid from the United States would mean nothing to his country, but that changes to military aid could have an effect on capacity.
US President Donald Trump threatened over the weekend to raise tariffs on the South American country and said Wednesday that all funding to the South American country had been halted.
Colombia was once among the largest recipients of US aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of money was suddenly curtailed this year by the shuttering of USAID, the US Government’s humanitarian assistance arm. Military cooperation has continued.
"What happens if they take away aid? In my opinion, nothing," Petro told journalists, adding aid funding often moved through US agencies.
But a cut to military cooperation would matter, he added.
"We lose capacity. And that capacity has to do with being dependent on the aid," Petro said.
Petro has objected to the US military’s strikes against vessels in the Caribbean.
Trump has responded by calling Petro an "illegal drug leader" and a "bad guy" – language Petro’s government says is offensive.
Though Trump has not yet announced any further tariffs – Colombian goods are currently subject to a 10 per cent rate – he said on Wednesday he may take "very serious action" against the country.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, additional reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb and Nelson Bocanegra)
