In an interview, Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, says that Donald Trump is furious because Colombia refused to lend its military to invade Venezuela. For Petro, this isn’t simply another diplomatic spat — it’s a stark example of empire in action, expecting neighbouring countries not to negotiate peace, but to become foot soldiers in foreign wars.
Petro frames the USUS demand not as cooperation, but as submission. In his view, the request for Colombia’s forces mirrors decades of external pressure: Latin America expected to host bases, militarise its borders, and carry out interventions so the empire can project power. The resentment he highlights isn’t personal; it’s structural — a fight over who controls resources, who dictates security, and whether Latin America remains free or remains colonised.
He links the moment to a broader pattern: US military strikes in the Caribbean and Caribbean-Venezuelan waters, of which Colombia was implicitly asked to be part. As tensions escalate, Petro warns that refusing the military path does not amount to weakness: it signals a refusal to serve as the empire’s mercenary. And a refusal to attack millions of Colombians who live in Venezuela.
The question is, will other Latin American leaders refuse to bow down to the Empire like Petro, or will others cave to the demands and whims of this expansive settler colonial ideology?
