El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, aseguró este miércoles que su homólogo colombiano, Gustavo Petro, es un «matón y un mal tipo» y lo acusó de fabricar «muchas drogas», días después de imputarle ser un «líder del narcotráfico».

«Es un matón y un mal tipo. Es un tipo que fabrica muchas drogas», declaró Trump a los reporteros en el Despacho Oval. «Ha hecho mucho daño a su país. Les está yendo muy mal».

El mandatario estadounidense se refirió al colombiano días después de anunciar el fin de la ayuda financiera a Colombia por su inacción en la lucha contra el narcotráfico y señalar a Petro como un «líder del narcotráfico».

«Tienen fábricas de cocaína. Cultivan todo tipo de porquerías y las drogas malas que entran en Estados Unidos generalmente pasan por México, y más le vale tener cuidado y tomar medidas muy serias contra él y su país», añadió Trump.

El magnate republicano aseguró que lo que Petro le «ha hecho a su país es una trampa mortal».

Estas declaraciones y el anuncio del fin de las ayudas se producen en medio de la escalada de las tensiones entre Bogotá y Washington por la guerra que EE.UU. ha declarado contra el narcotráfico.

La presencia de navíos y aeronaves militares estadounidenses en aguas del mar caribe han provocado el rechazo de gobiernos como el colombiano y el venezolana, elevando aún más las tensiones con Trump.

Este miércoles, el Pentágono anunció un nuevo ataque contra una supuesta narcolancha, esta vez en aguas del Pacífico frente a Colombia.

El lunes, Colombia llamó a consultas a su embajador en Washington y denunció una amenaza de invasión por parte de Estados Unidos luego del anuncio de Donald Trump de que retirará la ayuda financiera a Bogotá por «fomentar» la producción de drogas.

El ministro del Interior de Colombia, Armando Benedetti, denunció una «amenaza» de «invasión» de Trump, quien pareció sugerir algún tipo de intervención de Washington contra la producción de droga en el país sudamericano.

Trump detuvo el domingo el apoyo económico a Bogotá por supuestamente «fomentar» el narcotráfico y afirmó que debería «cerrar» los narcocultivos de «inmediato, o Estados Unidos se los cerrará».

La relación entre ambos países, que históricamente fueron aliados, entró en su peor momento con la llegada de Trump a la Casa Blanca mientras en Colombia gobierna el primer presidente izquierdista de su historia. Esa mala tensión creció en el último mes.

El primer episodio ocurrió a fines de septiembre en Nueva York, cuando el presidente Gustavo Petro -que había viajado a Estados Unidos para asistir a la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas- participó de una manifestación por Gaza que se llevó a cabo en esa ciudad en la que instó a los soldados norteamericanos a desobedecer al líder de la Casa Blanca.

Como consecuencia de esa participación, Washington decidió revocarle el visado de ingreso al país, acusándolo de «actos temerarios e incendiarios» durante la protesta.

Las tensiones se agudizaron por el despliegue militar de Estados Unidos en aguas del Caribe. Petro ha denunciado que los ataques letales contra embarcaciones acusadas de transportar drogas son desproporcionados y constituyen un “asesinato”.

Con una publicación en redes sociales, el presidente estadounidense tildó a su par colombiano de “capo de las drogas” que tiene «bajos índices de aprobación y es muy impopular». Y le advirtió además que “más le vale” frenar operaciones del narcotráfico «o Estados Unidos las cerrará por él, y no lo hará de manera amable».

Petro, quien puede ser tan expresivo en redes sociales como su homólogo estadounidense, rechazó las acusaciones de Trump y defendió su trabajo para combatir el narcotráfico en Colombia, el mayor exportador mundial de cocaína.

“Tratar de impulsar la paz de Colombia no es ser narcotraficante”, escribió Petro. Insinuó que Trump estaba siendo engañado por sus asesores y dijo que Trump estaba siendo “grosero e ignorante con Colombia”.

A security expert told Fox News Digital the first 48 hours are critical in the search for an American Christian missionary kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger, who may have already been moved between Islamic State-controlled areas where an ISIS offshoot operates.

Bryan Stern, founder of the crisis response group Grey Bull Rescue, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that in most organized kidnappings, those who seize a hostage are rarely the same people who hold them.

«What happens in most of these cases is whoever took the hostage isn’t who’s holding on to the hostage,» Stern said. «The people who hold hostages generally are a lot smarter, a lot more capable, less disposable… so getting to them as soon as possible does matter in a very demonstrable way.»

Stern said every passing hour reduces the chance of recovery. In many cases, hostages are quickly traded or sold between groups with differing motives — from ransom to propaganda — making it difficult to know what the captors want.

AMERICAN MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED IN NIGER BY SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS, SOURCES SAY

«It’s easy to understand who took somebody, but once people start getting traded around like cards and stuff, it’s hard to then understand what the current holding party wants,» he said.

The groups often operate with their own chain of command and pecking order, each with different goals and levels of influence.

«All those different things play into how you’re gonna get somebody back, and the most dangerous thing to do is send ninjas in and shoot everybody,» Stern said. «That’s the most highest-risk thing that we do because there’s no margin for error.»

I WAS KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM, AND SURVIVED. NO THANKS TO THE WEST’S SILENCE

Niger’s junta leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani salutes during an official ceremony in Niamey, Niger, on Aug. 26, 2023. Tchiani seized power in a July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has ruled the West African nation since. (AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. officials confirmed they are aware of the kidnapping, which took place in Niamey, about 100 yards from Niger’s presidential palace. The missionary, a pilot for the evangelical group Serving in Mission, was reportedly taken north toward an area controlled by an ISIS offshoot.

A State Department spokesperson said embassy officials are working closely with local authorities and that the Trump administration views the safe return of the U.S. citizen as a top priority. The U.S. Embassy has also restricted staff movements to armored vehicles and prohibited visits to restaurants and open-air markets.

Stern described the region as «31 flavors,» meaning there is everything from Russian proxies to criminal gangs and Islamic fundamentalists running around.

CRUZ CLASHES WITH NIGERIA OVER HIS CLAIMS 50,000 CHRISTIANS KILLED SINCE 2009 IN RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE

A general view of a crowded street market in Niamey, Niger, on May 17, 2023. The capital city has faced rising instability since the 2023 military coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum. (Michele Cattani / AFP via Getty Images)

While it’s easy to assume Islamist militants were behind the abduction, Stern cautioned, «until you know…it becomes speculation.»

«At some point, somebody will ask for something, you hope,» he said. «It’s very scary when they don’t ask for anything… the worst case scenario is a hostage taken by someone who doesn’t want anything. Then there’s no play to be made other than find them and kill them, and hopefully you survive that process.»

For now, the focus is on finding proof of life and establishing communication.

U.S. special operations units are likely monitoring surveillance and communications from the region, but Stern cautioned that a rescue attempt would be «the most dangerous thing special operations does.»

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Officials have not said whether any group has claimed responsibility or issued any demands.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.

Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay the vote on a short-term spending bill to reopen the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, concluding his remarks at 5:00 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers of the authoritarianism he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.

«Be aware and worried about the possibility of the use of an emergency in order to expand authoritarian power. That’s the position we’re in now in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a rubber-stamp Congress, a court that’s delivering more and more power to the executive and an executive who has a well-planned strategy,» Merkley said in his remarks.

JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY

«Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,» he said.

His speech comes as lawmakers remain gridlocked over federal funding for 2026. Whereas Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate have voted a dozen times to defeat the package.

The Senate once again failed to advance the package on Wednesday. It failed in a 54-46 vote. 

Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare healthcare subsidies that are set to sunset in 2025. 

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, update reporters following their face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the government funding crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber. 

Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour and 4-minute record that was set earlier this year, put the shutdown blame on Republicans throughout his discourse.

Booker praised Merkley’s stalling efforts online.

«Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we need to stand up for our democracy. We must continue to call out and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you, Jeff!» Booker said in a post on X. 

BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR

On the issue of authoritarianism, which comprised the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley decried what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits on executive power — like its deployment of the National Guard to urban areas.

«If you remove a clear standard as to whether there is a rebellion and just say a president can deploy the military on a whim in places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or to exercise a suppression of dissent, then you have flung the doors open to tyranny. To a strongman state,» Merkley said. 

National Guard members began patrolling Memphis in October as part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump to combat what the administration says is violent crime in the city.  (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

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President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, citing a need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.