\n \u201c(Oil) is at the heart of the matter,\u201d Gustavo Petro told CNN in an exclusive interview, noting that Venezuela has what are considered the largest oil reserves in the world.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cSo, that\u2019s a negotiation about oil. I believe that is (US President Donald) Trump\u2019s logic. He\u2019s not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking,\u201d he continued, adding that Venezuela is not considered a major drug producer and that only a relatively small portion of the global drugs trade flows through the country.\n <\/p>\n
\n Petro has been at odds with Trump since he returned to the White House. In the past year, the Colombian leader has harshly criticized the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies, its support for Israel and its military activity around Latin America.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Colombian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image00002-20251126055314768.jpeg\")
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\n On Tuesday, he accused the US of trying to impose its will on its neighbors, comparing its actions to imperialism. \u201cThe United States cannot be considered an empire, but one of the nations among others,\u201d the president said.\n <\/p>\n
\n CNN has reached out to the White House and the US State Department for comment.\n <\/p>\n
\n Asked if he had a message to the American people, Petro replied, \u201cMy message is the one they give to all members of the United States special forces: Your function, as they say in the oaths, is to fight against oppression. I repeated that on the streets in the United States, and it also cost me,\u201d Petro said.\n <\/p>\n
\n He appeared to be referring to the US State Department revoking his visa<\/a> at the conclusion of the UN General Assembly in September after he publicly called on American soldiers to disobey Trump and \u201cnot to point their rifles at humanity.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s one of the many actions the Trump administration has taken against the Colombian leader in recent months.\n <\/p>\n \n In October, the US Treasury sanctioned Petro<\/a>, accusing him of playing a \u201crole in the global illicit drug trade,\u201d a claim the Colombian leader has rejected.\n <\/p>\n \n The sanctions were imposed days after Trump said he would halt all US payments and subsidies <\/a> to Colombia, claiming Petro \u201cdoes nothing to stop\u201d the production of drugs in his country.\n <\/p>\n \n Petro defended his efforts to fight the drug trade, telling CNN that his government had seized more cocaine than any other in history. \u201cSo much so that in recent years, I have managed to ensure that the growth in crops, which is stagnating, is far surpassed by the growth in seizures,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n Asked why Trump hadn\u2019t acknowledged this, Petro said: \u201cBecause of pride. Because he thinks I\u2019m a subversive thug, a terrorist, and things like that, simply because I was a member of the M-19,\u201d a Colombian guerrilla movement active in the 1970s and 1980s.\n <\/p>\n \n Petro also told CNN that he believes the US is comparing him to Venezuela\u2019s President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.\n <\/p>\n \n His comments come a day after the US designated the Cartel de los Soles<\/a>, an alleged drug trafficking group that the US has claimed Maduro leads, as a foreign terrorist organization. Venezuela has denied the claims, and experts say the phrase is more a description of allegedly corrupt government officials than an organized crime group.\n <\/p>\n \n While Maduro has a problem with democracy, Petro said he is not that convinced about the Venezuelan president\u2019s drug trafficking links.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe problem of Maduro is called democracy \u2026 the lack of democracy,\u201d Petro told CNN, adding that \u201cno Colombian investigation \u2026 has shown us a relationship between Colombian drug trafficking and Maduro.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Venezuela is not a cocaine-producing country<\/a>. Of the 3,700 tons of coca produced worldwide, more than 2,500 tons come from Colombia, while Venezuela does not appear on production maps, according to the UNODC, which said: \u201cThe majority of Colombian cocaine is being trafficked north along the Pacific coast.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Investigators from the US Drug Enforcement Agency reached similar conclusions, writing in their annual report published in March that 84% of the cocaine seized in the US comes from Colombia.\n <\/p>\n![\"Colombian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image00003-20251126055416893-20251126055440460.jpeg\")
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![\"Venezuelan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ap25329815730143.jpg\")
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