Colombian leader warns US of Latin American ‘rebellion’
Published 19 Apr, 2026 14:46 | Updated 19 Apr, 2026 15:50
Latin America could explode in a “rebellion” against the US if it doesn’t rethink its approach to the region, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has warned, citing the raid on Caracas and kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
In an interview with El Pais published on Saturday, Petro lashed out at the US sanctions against him, portraying them as a tool of political extortion, comparing Washington’s approach to colonialism.
The US Treasury blacklisted Petro, his wife, son, and interior minister in October 2025, citing their alleged involvement in the global drug trade. The US levied similar accusations against Maduro before he was kidnapped in a US raid on Caracas in early January. Both Petro and Maduro have vehemently denied the allegations.
“This instrument for fighting drug trafficking… is used as a mechanism of extortion against those of us who express different political views. It’s a system like the one the King of Spain had centuries ago. And what was the Latin American response? Rebellion. That will happen now if the US government isn’t able to rethink its relationship with Latin America,” Petro said.
The Colombian president noted the global shock caused by the kidnapping of Maduro. “They persecute you and threaten to take you to the United States, like they did to Maduro,” Petro said, adding that Caracas became “the first Latin American city to be bombed in its history.”
“This has created a wound that the current rulers fearfully accept... and they kneel before it,” he added.
In a separate interview with El Pais, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also criticized the Trump administration’s approach to global politics, though he was more focused on the Iran war.
Trump, he said, is “playing a very dangerous game,” operating on the premise that American power dictates the rules of the game. “But that can’t be the case, because ultimately, it ends up creating problems for the US,” he warned.
Lula added that the US president “has no right to wake up in the morning and threaten a country.”
The Brazilian president has been one of the most vocal critics of Maduro’s abduction, saying it crossed “an unacceptable line” and “recalls the worst moments of interference in the politics of Latin America.”
El Salvador does not have the death penalty except in military/wartime events.
El Salvador prosecutors present witnesses in MS-13 mega-trial
The office said in a message published Tuesday that the testimonial evidence links the so-called ranfleros, considered the highest-ranking members of the gang, to the direct or indirect authorization of the crimes.
"No member of the structure acted without the direct or indirect instruction of the ranfla," the agency said, adding that the 22 gang leaders allegedly ordered up to 9,043 criminal acts.
These include killing more than 80 police officers and the order to murder 86 people during a weekend in March 2022 in actions the gang referred to as "open valves."
The judicial process began Monday in a specialized organized crime court, where the 486 defendants are being tried collectively for crimes committed between 2012 and 2022. They include homicide, extortion, forced disappearance and acts of rebellion, according to Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
What? No rape charges?
According to the newspaper, the trial is being conducted virtually, with the defendants connected online from prisons such as the Terrorism Confinement Center. Prosecutors have presented evidence including autopsies, ballistic analysis and testimony to support the charges.
Deputy prosecutor for organized crime Max Muñoz said the new statements add to 13 testimonies collected in recent months.
"We aim to illustrate to the court the entire criminal structure, its composition, its areas of influence and all of its criminal activity," he said in a video published by the Attorney General's Office.
Muñoz said the homicides cited in the case span from 2012 to March 2022 -- a period during which, according to the indictment, the organization carried out systematic attacks, including killing police officers and attacks against public institutions.
"All of these deaths will be attributed to the historical ranfleros who are the center of power of this structure," he said.
Muñoz also said that criminal orders were issued under the concept of "open valves," which allowed gang members to carry out killings and attacks without restrictions, as long as they were authorized by the leadership.
Other reports, such as one by NTN24, indicate that the case includes more than 47,000 crimes, including about 29,000 homicides, and is part of a counter-strategy of President Nayib Bukele's government following the wave of violence in March 2022 that led to the implementation of a state of emergency and mass arrests.
Salvadoran authorities have said they will seek maximum sentences against the defendants in a process they consider key to dismantling the gang's command structure and assigning responsibility to its historical leadership.
