US President Donald Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader" on Sunday and said the United States would cease "large scale payments and subsidies" to the South American nation.

"The purpose of this drug production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc," he said in a Truth Social post.

Reuters could not immediately establish which payments Trump was referring to. Colombia was once among the largest recipients of US aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of money was suddenly curtailed this year by the shuttering of USAID, the American government's humanitarian assistance arm.

The Colombian embassy in Washington, DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US State Depart

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