“Take Out Trump”: Colombian President Petro Makes Shocking Threat Against President Trump in Univision Interview
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened to “take out” President Donald Trump during a heated interview with Univision on Monday, escalating already strained relations between Washington and Bogotá.
The threat came a day after President Trump described Petro as an “illegal drug leader,” accusing him of allowing large-scale narcotics production throughout Colombia despite substantial U.S. aid meant to curb it.
“Humanity has a first offramp, and it is to change Trump in various ways. The easiest way may be through Trump himself — the easiest. If not, take out Trump,” Petro said in Spanish at the close of the interview with Univision President Daniel Coronell at the Casa de Nariño presidential palace.
Both Google Translate and X’s translation tools rendered Petro’s Spanish phrase — “si no, saca la Trump” — as “take out Trump.” Coronell, visibly unsettled by the remark, later posted, “I’m leaving more worried than when I arrived.”
The comments mark a new low in relations between the two countries, which have deteriorated sharply in recent months. On Monday, Colombia recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations following the U.S. military’s destruction of a suspected drug-running vessel in the Caribbean last month. One Colombian national was killed in the strike — a man Petro described as an innocent fisherman.
However, Colombian media outlets El País and El Tiempo reported that the man, identified as Alejandro Andrés Carranza Medina, alias “Coroncoro,” had a criminal record for his role in the 2015 theft of hundreds of police weapons.
JUST IN: Colombia’s President Petro wraps his Univision interview by saying that if @realDonaldTrump won’t change, the solution is to “get rid of Trump” pic.twitter.com/JzRYHGPIzX
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 21, 2025
President Trump defended the U.S. action, saying the strike targeted drug traffickers responsible for flooding American communities with deadly narcotics. In a statement, Trump said Petro’s government “encourages the massive production of drugs” and warned that U.S. aid payments to Colombia are being halted immediately.
“Petro, a low-rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely,” Trump said.
Tensions have been rising since the start of Trump’s second term. Shortly after his inauguration, Colombia refused to accept U.S. deportation flights, prompting tariff threats from Washington. The rift deepened when the U.S. revoked Petro’s visa after he urged American troops to disobey Trump during a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City.
In September, the U.S. officially “decertified” Colombia as a partner in anti-narcotics cooperation — the first time in nearly three decades such a step has been taken — citing the government’s failure to control cocaine production and exportation.
Now, Petro’s remarks about “taking out” the American president have pushed relations to their lowest point in years.
The Trump administration has not yet announced specific retaliatory measures beyond the suspension of aid, though Trump said aboard Air Force One that new tariffs on Colombian imports are forthcoming.
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