This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on October 22, 2025, shows what Hegseth says is US military forces conducting a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on October 21, 2025. HANDOUT / AFP
President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro traded angry threats Wednesday, October 22, as the United States announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead. Trump branded Petro a "thug" and suggested he was a drug trafficker leading his country to ruin, prompting the leftist leader to vow: "I will defend myself legally with American lawyers."
The US president also said vital military aid to Bogotá had been cut and warned Petro – a sharp critic of the strikes – to "watch it," while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Colombian leader a "lunatic."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meanwhile announced two strikes on boats in the Pacific – one on Wednesday and another the day before – in social media posts showing the vessels being engulfed in flames.
"Just as Al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness – only justice," wrote Hegseth.
