"U.S. is the First Country in the World to Bomb a South American Capital in History"

Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that the United States "is the first country in the world to bomb a South American capital in all of human history," referring to the recent attacks on Caracas.

In a post on X, Petro emphasized that the episode leaves a lasting mark on the region and called for avoiding responses based on revenge. "The wound remains open for a long time; our vengeance must not exist," he noted, while criticizing this logic by stating that "revolutions are not made with 'vendetta'" and that "vengeance kills the heart."

In this context, he affirmed that processes of political transformation should not be founded on hatred or retaliation. He compared the Caracas incident to historical episodes of great symbolic impact, asserting that "not even Netanyahu did it, nor Hitler, nor Franco, nor Salazar," adding that it is "a terrible medal" that, he said, "South Americans will not forget for generations."

Petro also raised the need to reconsider international alliances and strengthen regional integration. "Trade partners must change, and Latin America must unite or be treated as a servant and slave," he stated. He proposed that the priority should be a stronger Latin American alliance, "with the capacity to understand, trade, and unite with the entire world."

"Stop Slandering Me, Mr. Trump"

On the same day, Petro responded to threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who hinted at the possibility of carrying out a similar operation against him as the one executed in Venezuela.

"It is not about whether Maduro is good or bad, nor even whether he is a drug trafficker," he wrote, claiming that Colombian judicial archives "do not contain the names of Nicolás Maduro or Cilia Flores." He also rejected personal allusions: "My name, for 50 years, does not appear in judicial archives on drug trafficking. Stop slandering me, Mr. Trump. That is no way to threaten a Latin American president who emerged from armed struggle and later from the people of Colombia's fight for peace."

Background:
Last Saturday, the U.S. launched a massive military aggression on Venezuelan territory. The operation concluded with the kidnapping of the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Caracas described this act as a "grave military aggression" aimed at seizing Venezuela's strategic resources.

The Venezuelan leader and the first lady were transferred to the United States and are currently held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial.

Venezuela's Acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, warned the previous day that "what was done to our country could be done to anyone."

Saturday's massive attack followed a U.S. deployment off the coast of Venezuela, bombings of ships, and the interception of oil tankers.

Many countries around the world, including Russia, have urged the release of Maduro and his wife. Moscow condemned Washington's behavior and emphasized that Venezuela must have the right to decide its own destiny without any external intervention.