❓WHAT HAPPENED: Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro suggested “getting rid of” President Donald J. Trump in an interview on Monday evening.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Colombian President Gustavo Petro and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: October 20, 2025, during an interview with Univision.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If not—get rid of Trump,” Petro said, snapping his fingers.
🎯IMPACT: The remarks mark a significant escalation in the Marxist leader’s feud with Trump over his use of military airstrikes to stop cartel drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is escalating his feud with U.S. President Donald. J. Trump, suggesting in an interview on Monday night with the Spanish-language network Univision that “getting rid of” Trump may be necessary. “Humanity has a first offramp, it is to choose to change Trump in various ways,” Petro said, adding: “The easiest way may be through Trump himself. If not—get rid of Trump,” snapping his fingers for emphasis.
While the Marxist Colombian leader acknowledged his country has struggled to rein in violent drug cartels and end government corruption, Petro insisted only Colombians can determine their country’s future, stating: “Trump said: ‘Colombia is out of control.’ Of course, it is out of his control. In a democracy, a government is under the control of the people, not Trump. He is not a king in Colombia; we do not accept kings here, period.”
“In the 21st century, some believe they can become kings and viceroys, but in republics, it is not possible,” Petro continued, before threatening: “Here, the heads of kings are cut off if they come with a king’s attitude.”
🚨#BREAKING In an interview with @UniNoticias, Colombia’s narcoterrorist-in-chief, Gustavo Petro, has just threatened to “overthrow” President Trump.
Petro threats must be taken seriously, he is a genuine threat to the safety & security of our hemisphere.pic.twitter.com/L2JMGKMUF0
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 21, 2025
The National Pulse reported on Monday that Trump doubled down on his criticism of Colombia, calling Petro a “lunatic” and the “worst president they’ve ever had.” The America First leader has vowed to halt all payments to the Latin American country over its cocaine production and renewed support of neighboring Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
Since September, the U.S. military has been conducting airstrikes targeting Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean as part of a larger effort to eliminate criminal drug cartels across Latin America. In early October, President Trump formally notified Congress that the United States is now engaged in an official “armed conflict” with the South and Central American cartels.
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