Colombian president urges LatAm to defend regional sovereignty

11/8/2025 11:43

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday called on Latin American countries to safeguard regional sovereignty against possible U.S. military operations to combat drug cartels in the region.



"Any military operation that is not approved by our sister countries is an attack on Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a fundamental contradiction to our principle of freedom," Petro warned in a post on social media platform X.



His warning comes after U.S. newspaper The New York Times reported Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order authorizing the Pentagon to carry out military operations against drug cartels in Latin America.



Petro, in his capacity as commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, announced that he had ordered the military to defend the country's freedom from foreign incursions and expressed his strong support for the people of Venezuela to do the same.