After the support shown on his X account to Nicolás Maduro and Venezuela, in the face of a possible military operation in the neighboring country, President Gustavo Petrowas questioned by different economic leaders and unions for supporting a"regime that has shown special complacency and complicity with drug trafficking and corruption."

What did Petro say about Venezuela?

In a message published on the social network X, the head of state stated that a military operation against Venezuela without the approval of"sister countries" would be an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean.

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"I publicly transmit my order given, as commander of the Colombian Armed Forces. Colombia and Venezuela are the same people, the same flag, the same history. Any military operation that does not have the approval of the sister countries is an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean", said Petro.

I publicly transmit my given order, as commander of the Colombian armed forces. Colombia and Venezuela are the same people, the same flag, the same history.

Any military operation that does not have the approval of the sister countries is an aggression against…

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 10, 2025

He also replicated a message from the Bolivarian Army of Venezuela against the United States and the Attorney General of that country, Pam Bondi.

Petro's words came after Bondi announced that the reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro had been increased to $50 million.

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The Venezuelan president was accused by the United States in 2020, during Donald Trump's first presidency, of drug trafficking and terrorism offenses, and in January 2025.

Criticism of Petro from unions and economic leaders

The president of the Colombian-American Chamber (AmCham Colombia), María Claudia Lacouture, assured that saying that an operation against Venezuela is not an aggression against Colombia.

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"Brotherhood of peoples or complicity with a dictatorship? Saying that any operation in Venezuela is an aggression against Colombia is not diplomacy: it is turning the country and its forces to defend a dictator and a criminal. Defending brother peoples is not shielding dictators", wrote Lacouture in X.

Brotherhood of peoples or complicity with a dictatorship? Saying that any operation in Venezuela is an aggression against Colombia isn't diplomacy: it's turning the country and its forces to defend a dictator and a criminal. Defending brother peoples isn't shielding dictators.

— Maria Claudia Lacouture (@mclacouture) August 10, 2025

For his part, Bruce Mac Master, president of the National Association of Industrialists (Andi), criticized Petro's attitude and support for Maduro.

"There is no scenario in which Colombia and its State can and should support Nicolás Maduro. It is not only a long dictatorship, which has been experienced in Venezuela, but it is a regime that has shown special complacency and complicity with drug trafficking and corruption", he also stated in X.

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And he added that"there is no room for cronyism or ideological identifications when it comes to anti-democratic leaders deeply close to criminal activities that include the protection of terrorist groups that have affected the Colombian population for years".

— Bruce Mac Master (@BruceMacMaster) August 10, 2025