Petro issued a direct challenge to Trump, daring the US President to capture him. Photo: @petrogustavo
Colombian President dares Trump to 'get him', Denmark PM issues NATO warning
Colombia’s President Petro dares Trump as Denmark warns a US takeover of Greenland would end NATO
US President Donald Trump’s threats to Colombia and desire to control Greenland have resulted in strong rebuttals from the governments of Colombia and Denmark. While Colombian President Gustavo Petro challenged Trump in a similar way that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro once did, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned the Republican leader that any US “takeover” of Greenland would amount to the end of the NATO alliance.
‘Will unleash the jaguar’
Lashing out at the US over the military operation in Venezuela, Petro issued a direct challenge to Trump, daring the US President to capture him, saying, "Come get me. I'm waiting for you here."
He warned the US, stating that if it decides to bomb Colombia, it will result in the rise of thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. Petro said if the US tried to capture him, then the attempt would unleash “the jaguar” of the people.
Also Read: Trump ‘deserved it’: Maria Machado on sharing Nobel Peace Prize
"If they [the US] bombs, the campesinos will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And if they detain the president, whom a large part of the country loves and respects, they will unleash the 'jaguar' of the people," said Petro as quoted by NDTV.
The Colombian President, a former leftist guerrilla who laid down arms in the 1960s, warned that he would not hesitate to take up arms again to defend his homeland.
"I swore not to touch a weapon again ... but for the homeland I will take up arms again,” said Petro on Monday (January 5).
Trump’s cocaine charge against Petro
His remarks come a day after Trump, in a veiled dig at Petro, told reporters that Colombia was being run by a man who was selling cocaine to the US.
Also Read: Trump ‘deserved it’: Maria Machado on sharing Nobel Peace Prize
"Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you," said Trum,p adding that launching an operation against Colombia "sounds good" to him.
Maduro, in August, made a similar challenge to Trump statin,g "Come get me. I will wait for him here in Miraflores. Don't be late, coward.”
‘US takeover of Greenland will end NATO’
Trump’s remarks on Greenland also drew a strong response from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who warned that any US takeover of Denmark would amount to the end of the NATO military alliance.
“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.
‘Can’t equate Greenland with Venezuela’
Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen told reporters on Monday that Greenland cannot be put in the same bracket as Venezuela.
“We are not in a situation where we think that there might be a takeover of the country overnight, and that is why we are insisting that we want good cooperation. The situation is not such that the United States can simply conquer Greenland,” he said.