US Imperialism Launches Accusations Against Colombia, Increases Threats to Venezuela

Under the pretext of “stopping drug trafficking,” arch-reactionary President Donald Trump declared on October 19 that Colombian President Gustavo Petro is an “illegal drug dealer” with a “fresh mouth toward America.” He also announced that he would halt all “aid” payments to Colombia, which has long ranked among the largest recipients worldwide of US military funding under the guise of counter-narcotics aid. He later told reporters he would announce new tariffs on Colombian goods, but has so far instead imposed sanctions on Petro and his family. The threats against Colombia aim to tighten the US imperialists’ belt around the neck of the oppressed nation in the context of the US military build-up and aggression against Venezuela which has now turned to include Colombia.

According to Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, “These statements by Trump correspond to a threat of invasion or ground or military action against Colombia.” In response, Bogotá summoned its ambassador to Washington for consultations.

Along with the smear campaign against the Colombian nation, US military forces have expanded their attacks, under the pretext of stopping alleged drug smuggling, on vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean near Colombia, with the latest strikes bringing the total number of vessels struck by the US imperialists to 13 as of October 27, with at least 50 people murdered in total. No evidence has been provided to date by the US military that any of the ships bombed are drug smuggling vessels, with the release of several survivors of one such attack further compounding the proof that these bombings are being done on farcical grounds.

In one such attack, the US imperialists bombed a Colombian civilian fishing boat, killing fisherman Alejandro Carranza. His murder sparked outrage among the Colombian masses who responded by large combative protests in the city of Bogota, targeting the US Embassy there on 10/17.

In addition, the largest group of dissident FARC guerrillas—those who have not signed peace accords with the government of Colombia—said on 10/25 they would resist US military intervention against Colombia.

Even monopoly media analysts have admitted that the recent actions of the Trump administration in the Caribbean appears as a “revival” of the Monroe Doctrine, a reference to when US started its subjugation of the region to increase its exploitation and expropriation of the wealth of peoples there.

The Southern Command’s Insidious Mission

The threats against Colombia further reveal that the US imperialist threats of invasion and regime change in Venezuela are part of broader plans to further subjugate the region as a whole.

Trump ordered the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, along with its strike group of destroyers, to the region on October 24. The USS Gerald Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier and is joining the US military build-up in the Caribbean threatening Venezuela and the region. Of note, US carrier groups attacking Yemen were beaten back by the Yemeni resistance during their support front with the Palestinian resistance earlier this year.

The Venezuelan people have continued their armed mobilization in defense of their nation from US imperialist aggression while Venezuelan president Maduro continues to call for peace and for the people of the US to reject a new “forever war”.

According to a statement from the Venezuelan vice president, a group of “mercenaries” plotting a “false flag” operation on behalf of the CIA were captured by security forces on October 26, with the VP claiming the foiled action was to provide justification for a US imperialist invasion of the country. This comes after Trump told monopoly reporters he had authorized CIA operations against Venezuela.

The US now has the largest military presence in the Caribbean since the invasion of Panama in 1989, of around 10,000 personnel with fighter jets, destroyer groups, and soon the USS Gerald Ford. The complex management of the efforts to control and exploit the peoples and resources of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean is directed through the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

SOUTHCOM is a Joint Command, made up of more than 1,200 military personnel and civilians representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and several federal agencies such as the DEA, the Defense Intelligence Agency (AID), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Trump’s rhetoric against Venezuela and Colombia is part of a consolidated strategy managed through SOUTHCOM for US imperialism in Latin America, which is a continuation of past armed attacks on nations there under the pretext of “fighting drug trafficking” for control and plunder—including the 1989 invasion of Panama and in the 1990s and the 2000s with Plan Colombia. Since then, out of the 750 American bases internationally, 75 of those are in Latin America, with 9 being in Colombia itself. On top of the bases themselves, through agreements on “facilitated military access” the governments of Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Chile and Brazil permit free use of ports and airports for the US military, allowing for quick deployment of troops.

In this context, the US imperialists is conducting joint military exercises with the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, to run through October 30, news that was met in the nation by people’s demonstrations against the subjugation of their country to US imperialism’s war aims, a situation reflected also in Brazil as noted by A Nova Democracia.

The Official 2025 Statement of SOUTHCOM presented to the US Congress last February explained that “to maintain trust and security, they [Latin American countries] must feel and see our presence – before it’s too late.” The same report cites the need for US troops for both “insider threats” from organizations labeled as terrorists (Communist Party of Peru and ELN) and the “Chinese and Russian presence”—in other words, to facilitate extraction of super-profits by US monopoly capital, to counter the people’s war in Peru and the people’s struggles in the region, and to counter the growing threats of rival imperialists.

US Imperialism: The Real Drug Dealers

Far from being opposed to the drug trade, the CIA and the military agencies have worked hand in hand with reactionary and anti-communist groups and governments to facilitate it. As explained in The Worker previously, the CIA in fact directed the drug trade in Venezuela through the comprador government of Carlos Andres Perez. In Colombia, the CIA and US military has forged ties with right-wing narco-gangs like the Clan del Golfo and Aguilas Negras, who have been actively involved in the production and distribution of cocaine but have nonetheless received funding as part of the low-intensity war to counter the threat of revolution there. In 1996 the San Jose mercury News published articles by journalist Gary Webb which also showed the CIA was involved in taking cocaine from Colombia, selling it to gangs to distribute on American streets, which in turn was redistributed to the anti-communist Contras rebels in Nicaragua.

The lie of “stopping narco trafficking” was also used in 1989 to overthrow Manuel Noriega in Panama. Noriega in the 70s and 80s was commander of the Panamanian Defense Forces and led a US backed military coup, serving covertly as a CIA agent to back the US against “communism.” According to the Human Rights Watch, the US knew he was involved in drug trafficking but continued to support him. Nevertheless in December 1989 20,000 US troops invaded Panama and deposed Noriega for the purpose of tightening US control there.

Note: This article has been updated to correct a factual inaccuracy in the description of the geographic location of the US imperialist boat strikes.

Image: USS Gerald Ford during a training exercise in the Atlantic Ocean in 2023, US Navy photo.

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