MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Colombia announced today it will recall its ambassador to the United States. The move marks a new low in relations between two nations that once were close allies and partners in the war on drugs. The main source of tension these days is the U.S. policy of attacking alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean. These military strikes have raised legal questions. They have killed more than two dozen people and they have prompted Colombian President Gustavo Petro to accuse the Trump administration of murder. Over the weekend, Trump responded by saying that Petro himself is a drug trafficker. For more on the dispute, we go now to reporter John Otis. He's in the capital, in Bogota. Hey, John.
JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: Hey, how are you doing?
KELLY: I am doing all right. I'm curious because we've heard a lot about these U.S. strikes in relation to Venezuela. Why are they enraging the government of Colombia?
OTIS: Yeah, that's correct. U.S. officials say most of the destroyed boats have come from Venezuela. However, Colombian President Gustavo Petro claims that on September 16, the U.S. attacked the boat of a stranded Colombian fisherman who had no ties to drug smuggling. Petro then declared that, quote, "the United States has invaded our national territory, fired a missile at a - to kill a humble fisherman and destroyed his family, his children." That angered Trump, who on Sunday, without providing any evidence, said on social media that Petro was, quote, "an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs." Trump also threatened to cut off U.S. aid and to raise tariffs on Colombia.
KELLY: And then he went on, as I mentioned, to call Colombia's president a drug trafficker himself.
OTIS: Yeah. It's kind of bizarre given that Petro has, in fact, over the years, been a staunch opponent of traffickers. In fact, he rose to fame when, as a Colombian senator, he held high-profile hearings that exposed the inner workings of cocaine cartels. And now, it is true that Colombia is the world's No. 1 producer of cocaine, but that was also true long before Petro became president. And what's more, demand for - from U.S. drug users fuels a lot of the illegal narcotics trade here in Colombia, so there's - you know, there really is plenty of blame to go all around.
KELLY: What about the politics here, John? Petro is Colombia's first ever left-wing president. Is that playing into his problems with President Trump?
OTIS: I really think it is. Both of these presidents are very strong-willed. They disagree on almost everything, and both of them are insulting each other on social media all the time. This particular spat started way back in January when Petro initially rejected U.S. military flights of deported migrants, and then things got a lot worse when Petro attended a street rally last month in New York, where he made some inflammatory comments. Let's take a listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT GUSTAVO PETRO: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Now, here Petro's urging U.S. soldiers to be more humane and said they could do so by disobeying the orders of President Trump. Not surprisingly, this enraged Trump, and even many Colombians thought Petro had gone too far. The State Department reacted by saying it would revoke Petro's U.S. visa, and that's the first time this has happened to a Colombian leader in three decades.
KELLY: And say more about the other threat, President Trump threatening to cut off aid to Colombia. How would that affect Colombia?
OTIS: Well, in the past year, U.S. aid to Colombia was about $230 million, but a lot of that went towards helping the Colombians fight the drug cartels. So, you know, if Trump's true aim in all of this is to stop the flow of cocaine into the U.S., it would seem that shutting down aid to Colombia could actually backfire.
KELLY: John Otis, reporting from the Colombian capital, Bogota. Thank you, John.
OTIS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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