Name: Some Colombians fear Trump could target their country next
Uploaded: 2026-01-07T15:02:01.052Z
Duration: 2 min 48 s
Description: After U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he might target Colombian President Gustavo Petro next, some in Colombia worry what it could mean for their country.

After U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he might target Colombian President Gustavo Petro next, some in Colombia worry what it could mean for their country.

Bogotá

After the US conducted a raid to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan refugees in Colombia and local residents have expressed concern about ongoing repression in Venezuela and the implications for the region. Some fear that Colombia could become the next target of US intervention, particularly with President Gustavo Petro criticizing US President Donald Trump for suggesting action against Colombia over the drug trade.

Tensions remain high along the Colombia-Venezuela border, with increased military presence and planned national protests in Colombia. President Petro has announced his participation in the demonstrations and will address the nation as concerns about US involvement and regional stability grow.

Some Colombians fear Trump could target their country next

In one of the deeply Venezuelan neighborhoods near Cucuta, Colombia, just inside the Colombian border, those who fled Venezuela years ago now try to make sense of what's happening in their home country. Say some, nothing's changed. This woman who came here nine years ago spoke to us only after covering her face. Even with the new president, she says anyone who says anything against the Venezuelan government will go to jail, so we're back to the same thing again. Days after that U.S. raid to remove from power Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, we hear from this man, Venezuelan Oscar Machado, only disdain for Donald Trump. It's a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and international law, he tells us. Trump is always pointing at people who break the law. Here he is doing just that. Several blocks away, the bridge from Venezuela crossing into Colombia was jammed. On the Colombian side, trucks are inspected, papers double-checked by freshly placed authorities. But in Venezuela, there's loud support for the now-jailed-in-America Maduro, while Interim President Delsi Rodriguez labeled Trump's move unprecedented aggression. And as Venezuela's Attorney General told the country, sitting heads of states such as Maduro have, as he put it, absolute personal immunity and cannot be arrested or prosecuted by foreign courts, even false that. But to those who want real change now in Venezuela, Luis Carrero, who works with popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, says in effect, be patient. It is changing, he says. What Trump has done is a step in a long process. The regime had been around for 26 years. This is a step. Back on the streets of Colombia, where military vehicles and armed soldiers remain in place along the Venezuelan border, worries persist Trump may move against Colombia's president as well, citing the drug trade as the issue. And so Gustavo Petro continues to slam the U.S. president for even suggesting such action, Petro saying Trump has, quote, a senile brain. Those who voted for Donald Trump, he added, voted for a greedy outlaw. Meanwhile, in Colombia tomorrow is set to be a day of national protest with demonstrations planned for town squares and city squares throughout the country. The president himself says he'll take part in one of them and will address the nation as tensions in this country, Adrian, escalate. All right. Thank you, Paul. That's Paul Hunter in Cucuta, Colombia.

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