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Donald Trump
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Trump says any country trafficking drugs into US could be attacked

In response to the threat, Colombia’s Petro says his nation destroys drug labs ‘without missiles’ and warns Trump not to ‘awake the Jaguar’

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Packages of seized cocaine lined up in Panama City, Panama in November. A tugboat carrying 13,508kg of cocaine, was intercepted in Panamanian Pacific waters as it sailed to North America from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities. Photo: EPA
Reuters

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said any country trafficking illegal drugs into the United States could be attacked.

“Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack,” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House, after raising the issue of cocaine from Colombia.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro shot back at Trump in a social media post, arguing the South American nation destroys a drug-producing laboratory every 40 minutes – “without missiles”.

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Trump has launched an offensive on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific in recent months, killing dozens through targeted missile strikes.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro. Photo: AP
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro. Photo: AP

US military forces have built up in the Caribbean, with tensions ratcheting up between Trump and Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, which borders Colombia.

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