Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the Trump administration's recent posture toward Venezuela has more to do with oil than with combating drug trafficking, as the White House has maintained.
"[Oil] is at the heart of the matter," Petro told CNN in the interview, which was published Wednesday.
"So, that's a negotiation about oil. I believe that is [President Donald] Trump's logic. He's not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking," he added.
In recent weeks, the Pentagon has carried out nearly two dozen strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs in the Caribbean, killing at least 83 people.
But Venezuela is not a major producer of fentanyl, and approximately 74% of the cocaine entering the United States comes in through the Pacific, according to a 2020 Drug Enforcement Administration assessment.
The New York Times reported that the State Department estimated in 2020 that the majority of Venezuela's cocaine exports went through Trinidad to Europe or to Brazil.
According to the outlet, military officers confirmed earlier this month that no cocaine was discovered aboard the ships attacked by the United States military.
In his interview with CNN, Petro also said that "no Colombian investigation ... has shown us a relationship between Colombian drug trafficking and [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro."
The Colombian leader's comments come as the Trump administration has ramped up its efforts to pressure Maduro to step down.
Adding extra pressure, the White House on Monday designated the Maduro-linked Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization, which authorizes Washington to use lethal force against designated targets.
Shortly after the designation, Venezuela's foreign ministry rejected what it called "the new and ridiculous lie from Secretary of State Marco Rubio," which it said was intended "to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela."
"Whatever they do, wherever they do it, however they do it, they will not be able to defeat Venezuela. We are invincible," Maduro said Monday during his weekly television program.
On Tuesday, Trump said he "might" speak with Maduro at some point in the near future but did not indicate the purpose of the U.S. military buildup near Venezuela or the strikes.
"I'm not going to tell you what the goal is," Trump told reporters on Air Force One. "You should probably know what the goal is."
"If we can save lives, if we can do things the easy way, that's fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that's fine too," he added.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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