US President Donald Trump has been preparing a military operation in Colombia, President Gustavo Petro told Spanish daily El Pais in an interview published Friday.
"Trump told me in a phone call that he was thinking of doing bad things in Colombia. The message was that they were already preparing, planning a military operation," Petro said.
However, the left-wing Colombian leader said he believes the threat was "frozen" after Wednesday's phone call, while also acknowledging "I could be mistaken."
"Any president, anywhere in the world, can be removed if he or she does not align with certain interests," he said, adding that he fears suffering the same fate as Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces in Caracas last weekend.
Petro explained that Colombia lacks air defense capabilities, but has called for popular resistance.
The Colombian president said he spoke with Trump for around an hour on Wednesday, where he was able to lay out his views.
"[Trump] had only information from the opposition living in the state of Florida, where the most radical Republican wing is based. That opposition lies about our fight against drug trafficking," he said.
Petro said Trump understood him, saying he was also a victim of falsehoods and urging improved communication to avoid future misunderstandings.
- Thoughts on Venezuela
Petro told El Pais that he is a friend of Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's acting president, and has spoken to her since she took office.
"She is under pressure from outside and from within," he said. "She has been accused of being a traitor."
Last Saturday, Trump said top US officials were controlling the Venezuelan government. However, Rodriguez later said "no foreign agent" is running the country.
Petro said her central task should be uniting the Venezuelan people. "If they unite and seek a political way out of the obvious problem they face, they can move forward," Petro said.
He added that all of Venezuela's political factions should continue to exist, and suggested a shared government model as a stepping stone to free elections in the future.
Petro said he did not recognize the results of the last Venezuelan elections, but also criticized Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. "Everything she has done so far has been wrong, including awarding Trump the Nobel Prize," he said.
He also warned that continued unilateral US intervention into sovereign nations could lead to a "world war."
"The issue is not Venezuela; the issue is China," Petro said. "The United States fears competition with China and seeks energy to compete commercially, but that will lead to war."
