Above photo: Colombian President Gustavo Petro, left, with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro being saluted by the Presidential Honor Guard at Miraflores Palace, Caracas, in October 2022. Rayner Pena/Shutterstock/file photo.
President Petro Backs Maduro.
Through a message posted Sunday, August 10, on social media, Colombian President Gustavo Petro reaffirmed his strong support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This followed recent threats from the Trump administration against the Venezuelan government, which is trying to link Maduro with drug trafficking, and the discovery by Bolivarian authorities of arsenals of weapons belonging to terrorist groups linked to the extreme right.
Petro emphatically declared that “Colombia and Venezuela are the same people, the same flag, the same history.” He emphasized that “any military operation that is not approved by our sister countries is an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean.” This came after it was leaked to the US press that US President Donald Trump had authorized the use of armed forces against Latin American nations he believed were linked to cartels.
Some analysts worry Petro’s message might imply knowledge of US destabilization plans in the making. For that reason, Venezuelan security agencies have raised alert levels, especially after The New York Times report about an alleged “covered” US anti-narcotic operation in Latin America.
Transmito públicamente mi orden dada, como comandante de las fuerzas armadas de Colombia. Colombia y Venezuela son el mismo pueblo, la misma bandera, la misma historia.
Cualquier operación militar que no tenga aprobación de los países hermanos es una agresión contra…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 10, 2025
Evoking the legacy of the independence war, the Colombian president made a resounding call: “‘Freedom or death,’ shouted [Simon] Bolívar, and the people rose up,” highlighting the defense of Venezuelan sovereignty and self-determination.
The Colombian head of state also shared a message of the Venezuelan president’s Presidential Honor Guard. In it, General Javier José Marcano Tabata, commander of the Presidential Honor Guard (GHP) and director general of military counterintelligence (DGCIM), declared loyalty to the government of Nicolás Maduro as the constitutional president of the nation. He affirmed that his forces are ready to defend the people of Venezuela when the president orders it.
President Petro also showed support for his Venezuelan counterpart regarding persecution by US authorities. He categorically denied accusations by US Attorney General Pam Bondi against Nicolás Maduro, in a repeat of a dirty trick that Donald Trump already attempted in 2020, during his previous term, against the Venezuelan constitutional president.
According to the Colombian president, the solution to Venezuela’s political problems should not lie in violence nor in the persecution of its leaders, but rather in open dialogue that guarantees free and peaceful elections.
Along these lines, Petro called for a multinational and coordinated fight against drug trafficking involving the governments of the US and Venezuela, but always without undermining national sovereignty.
The Colombian president publicly acknowledged the valuable support of Venezuela and President Maduro in the fight against this scourge, stating that “it has helped us decisively defeat drug trafficking along the border.”
Other Latin American leaders and governments have expressed support for the Venezuelan president. The governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, and Iran also expressed their rejection of a possible US unilateral military operation, interpreting it as a form of political pressure rather than a genuine effort against organized crime.
