TRUMP HALTS AID TO COLOMBIA, TOUTS DRUG‑SUB STRIKE EN ROUTE TO U.S. BORDER

President Donald Trump escalated rhetoric against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, labeling him an "illegal drug leader" and declaring an immediate halt to U.S. payments and subsidies to Colombia. Trump also publicized a U.S. maritime strike on a drug‑carrying vessel he said was headed toward the United States, claiming two suspects were killed and two survivors returned to Colombia and Ecuador for prosecution. The moves intensify a broader, accelerating campaign of U.S. counternarcotics strikes in the Caribbean that has drawn diplomatic pushback from Colombia and Venezuela. The developments intersect with border security by targeting narcotics flows bound for the U.S. market.