Flower growers in Colombia fear the tension that have sprouted between the governments of Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump will negatively affect them, including possible sanctions, given that the United States is their main market.

“It's very serious because it weakens relationships, makes them very fragile, and at any moment when certain lines are crossed, there may be reactions that will have commercial consequences,” Augusto Solano, president of the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Solano was attending Proflora, the most important event promoting Colombian flowers held in the country.

Concerns in the flower industry have been heightened in recent days by the revocation of President Petro's visa, after he urged the US military to disobey Trump's orders and not “point their guns at humanity” during a demonstration in New York against Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip.

The State Department described these actions as “reckless and inflammatory.”

But this is not the first friction between the two governments.

Since January, when Trump came to power, disagreements with Petro have become apparent due to his criticism of Trump’s immigration policy, support for Israel, and military deployment in Caribbean waters off Venezuela.

Petro has also lashed out at the U.S. government after it added Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in three decades.

It is not only flower growers who are concerned; 500 Colombian businesspeople and leaders published a letter distancing themselves from Petro's statements in New York, asserting that he does not represent them.

Many in the business community fear the U.S. could place new tariffs.

The flower industry says it is already affected by the 10% tariff imposed by Trump on Colombian products entering the United States, as part of the general tariff increase, he applied to multiple countries at the beginning of his administration.

“Although we have managed to cope with the 10% tariff, we would not be able to cope with a higher level of tariffs,” warns Solano, who says that they are also affected by the exchange rate, which reduces the sector's profits.

Flower growing generates more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs in Colombia, in addition to other suppliers such as agrochemicals and packaging companies.

Its main market is the United States, where 80% of flowers are exported.

AP Video by Marko Alvarez.