United States President Donald Trump on Sunday (Jan 4) openly threatened military action against Colombia, dramatically escalating tensions in Latin America just days after a covert US operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and transferred him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump accused Colombia’s leadership of enabling the cocaine trade and suggested that direct US military intervention was a viable option. “Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long,” Trump said, in an apparent reference to Colombian President Gustavo Petro. When asked whether the United States would pursue a military operation against Colombia, Trump replied bluntly: “It sounds good to me.”
The remarks sent shockwaves through the region, already reeling from the stunning US raid that resulted in Maduro’s arrest. The Venezuelan leader was seized in what US officials have described as a meticulously planned operation and flown to New York, where he is expected to stand trial on long-standing US drug-trafficking charges.
Following Maduro’s capture, Trump said the United States would take effective control of Venezuela and dispatch US companies to repair the country’s decaying oil infrastructure, which has suffered years of underinvestment and mismanagement. The comments underscored Trump’s intention to exert direct influence over Venezuela’s political and economic future, though he has yet to outline a clear framework for governance.
Venezuela’s interim government pushed back sharply on Sunday. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared that the country’s leadership remained unified behind Maduro, insisting that he continues to be Venezuela’s legitimate president. Rodríguez, who assumed the interim role with the backing of Venezuela’s top court, publicly contradicted Trump’s claim that she was prepared to work with Washington.
In a telephone interview with The Atlantic, Trump dismissed Rodríguez’s statements and issued a stark warning. He said she would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she failed to do “what’s right,” further inflaming an already volatile standoff.
Despite Trump’s confident rhetoric, significant questions remain about how the United States plans to oversee Venezuela or manage the regional fallout. Analysts warn that an aggressive posture toward both Venezuela and Colombia risks alienating key allies and could provoke backlash among Trump’s own supporters, some of whom oppose foreign military interventions.
Details emerging about the Maduro operation highlight the scale and secrecy of the mission. While the capture stunned observers, sources familiar with the matter said planning had been underway for months and involved extensive rehearsals. Elite US forces, including the Army’s Delta Force, reportedly constructed an exact replica of Maduro’s heavily fortified safe house to practise entry tactics under realistic conditions.
The CIA also played a central role, according to multiple sources. A small CIA team was deployed on the ground as early as August, gathering detailed intelligence on Maduro’s daily routines. This “pattern of life” analysis was critical in identifying a narrow window in which the operation could be executed with minimal resistance.
Two sources told Reuters that the agency also cultivated an asset close to Maduro, capable of tracking his movements in real time and confirming his precise location as the raid unfolded. That intelligence, combined with military preparation, helped ensure what one source described as a “seamless” capture.
The final authorization for the operation came late Friday night, when Trump gave the go-ahead at 10:46 p.m. EST. As the region braces for the consequences of Maduro’s arrest and Trump’s threats toward Colombia, Latin America faces one of its most uncertain and potentially dangerous moments in decades.
