Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced today (Wednesday) that he intends to “defend himself legally” in the United States and prosecute his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on charges of slander after the billionaire Republican called him a “thug” during a press conference.
The leftist president said: “I will defend myself legally before the American courts, with the help of American lawyers, in response to the slander directed at me on American soil by senior officials.”
Colombia and the United States are traditional allies, but their relationship has become severely strained in recent months after their presidents exchanged insults publicly.
For his part, Colombia’s ambassador to Washington denounced Trump’s threats to his country and its president, warning that the close relationship that has brought the two countries together for two centuries was in danger.
Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena told Agence France-Presse in Bogota after his country summoned him for consultations that what Trump issued was “unacceptable.”
He added: “Under no circumstances can this type of threats and completely baseless accusations be justified.”
In response to Trump’s description of Petro as a “thug” and his threat to take “extremely dangerous measures” against Colombia and its president, the ambassador said in a tone full of astonishment: “There are unacceptable things” in what the American president said.
