Donald Trump ends all payments to Colombia

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday he would end all US payments and subsidies to Colombia, marking a dramatic escalation in his back-and-forth with the country's president, Gustavo Petro. 

CNN has reported that Donald Trump said in a post to social media that Petro "does nothing to stop" the production of drugs in his country, "despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America." 

"As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment, or subsidies, will no longer be made to Colombia," the president said in all caps. The two leaders have clashed on the issues of migration and drug trafficking, especially as the US conducts strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, but Sunday's announcement intensified the friction with new financial stakes. 

The US has provided about $210 million in assistance to Colombia this fiscal year, including about $31 million in agricultural support, according to data from the US Department of State. It was not immediately clear which payments Trump was referring to Sunday, but the US is by far the largest funder of Colombia's security, providing billions of dollars every year. The Andean country had previously been Washington's most reliable ally in South America on national security and defense. 

Trump warned Petro that he "better close up these killing fields," referring to areas where drugs are produced, "or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely." 

Trump's comments come after his administration said last month that Colombia had "failed demonstrably" in its obligations to fight drug trafficking but that the US would continue to provide funding to the country. Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine, accounting for almost two-thirds of total production, according to the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime. 

Trump and Petro have sparred for months, most recently as Petro accused the US of murdering an innocent Colombian national during one of the Trump administration's strikes in the Caribbean. Last month, the US revoked Petro's visa after he publicly called on American soldiers to disobey Trump during a visit to the United Nations General Assembly.