Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Colombia to denounce Donald Trump’s threats of military action in the country, following last weekend’s deadly US raid on Venezuela.
In Cúcuta, a border city, demonstrators marched waving Colombian flags and chanting “Out with the Yanks!” Protesters described Trump as “the devil” and a “maniac”, and called on the US Congress to remove him from office.
President Gustavo Petro, who called for the demonstrations, described the raid on Venezuela as illegal. Trump had earlier called Petro a “sick man” and said military intervention in Colombia “sounds good to me”.
The protests were part of a wider wave of demonstrations across Latin America, including in Mexico City, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, against what many see as US imperialism and a bid for control of Venezuela’s oil.
“He doesn’t want to liberate Venezuela. He just wants the oil,” said Marta Jiménez, a teacher in Cúcuta. Another protester, Juan Carlos Silva, expressed fear that Colombia would be next after Venezuela.
