U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday night that he would impose higher tariffs on Colombia and suspend all financial payments to the South American country, intensifying a dispute linked to U.S. military strikes on vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking in the region.

Earlier in the day, Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader,” while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces had attacked a vessel associated with a Colombian rebel group.

Petro said the boat belonged to a “humble family,” not a rebel group, while his government called Trump’s remarks offensive.

Trump’s latest comments marked a new low in relations between Washington and Bogota, which Trump accuses of being complicit in the illicit drug trade. “They don’t have a

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