WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said any country trafficking illegal drugs into the US could be attacked.
“Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack,” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House, after raising the issue of cocaine from Colombia. Colombian President Gustavo Petro shot back at Trump in a post on X, arguing the South American nation destroys a drug- producing laboratory every 40 minutes — “without missiles.”
Trump has launched an offensive on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific in recent months, killing dozens through targeted missile strikes.
US military forces have built up in the Caribbean, with tensions ratcheting up between Trump and Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, which borders Colombia.
The Trump administration alleges Maduro plays a key role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans, which Maduro has denied. In recent days, Trump has flagged the possibility of US military intervention in Venezuela.
Trump on Tuesday told reporters that any country that was sending illegal drugs to the US could be subject to land strikes, “not just Venezuela.”
“I hear the country of Colombia is making cocaine, they have cocaine manufacturing plants, and then they sell us their cocaine,” Trump said.
Petro, who has been personally sanctioned by the Trump administration, invited Trump to participate in the nation’s anti-drug offensive, but with a warning.
“Do not threaten our sovereignty, or you will awake the Jaguar,” Petro said. “Attacking our sovereignty is declaring war.”
Trump says any country trafficking drugs into US could be attacked
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Trump says any country trafficking drugs into US could be attacked
- Trump on Tuesday told reporters that any country that was sending illegal drugs to the US could be subject to land strikes, “not just Venezuela”
UK granted permission to appeal ruling that Palestine Action ban was unlawful
- London’s High Court ruled this month that the ban was unlawful
- The same court on Wednesday granted Britain’s Home Office interior ministry permission to challenge its ruling
LONDON: The British government was on Wednesday given permission to appeal against a ruling that its ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was unlawful.
Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly taken “direct action” against Israel-linked defense companies in Britain, often blocking entrances or spraying red paint.
Palestine Action was banned shortly after a June break-in at the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton air base, in which activists damaged two planes, an action described by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “disgraceful.”
Lawyers representing Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, argued at a hearing last year that the move was an authoritarian restriction on the right to protest.
London’s High Court ruled this month that the ban was unlawful, ruling that it was a disproportionate interference with free speech rights.
The same court on Wednesday granted Britain’s Home Office interior ministry permission to challenge its ruling, saying the ban would remain in place pending the appeal.
The Home Office said it was pleased it could appeal.
“We will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The ruling earlier this month threw into question the prosecution of hundreds of people who had been charged for holding signs in support of the group, and prompted London’s Metropolitan Police to say it would focus on gathering evidence rather than making arrests.
