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| Photo: Gearóid Ó Loingsigh, Catatumbo, Colombia |
Trump began his second term with strong statements regarding Latin America. According to him, the USA does not need Latin America but rather Latin America needs the USA. “They need us more than we need them. We don’t need them; they need us. They all need us” and then declared however, that the relationship with the Latin countries “should be great.[1]
However, the relationship started off on the backfoot due to his statements on Panama and his intention to take the canal. The migrant issue caused the first crisis between Trump and Colombia over the use of military planes to deport Colombians and the inhumane conditions in which they travelled. Petro refused permission for the military plane to land provoking the ire of Trump who responded by imposing tariffs and cancelling visas for Colombian functionaries, almost starting his economic war with Colombia before he had even got round to Canada, Mexico and China.
Petro responded by imposing his own tariffs in a romantic missive citing US authors that Trump surely does not know, such as Miller and Walt Whitman. Trump, perhaps, thinks that Whitman is a pseudonym for Disney. Petro’s response was poetic and delirious at the same time, comparing himself to Salvador Allende and affirming his willingness to die for the cause. Some commentators asked about his state of sobriety when he wrote it and it does seem he was under the influence of some substance. We hope it was not something banned in the USA: all we need is them seeking his extradition.
Petro in his statement vehemently declared as if he were Che storming Santa Clara that “I die as I have lived, I survived torture and I will survive you.” And in an attempt to be put forward for a literature prize he stated “You will kill me, but I will live on in my people, which is more than yours, the Americas. We are a people of the winds, the mountains, of the Caribbean sea and freedom.” Petro bowed down in less than 24 hours because, despite insisting that Colombia is not a colony, it is and this is not new. Colombia is a colony of both the USA and the European Union and its economy depends on its exports of raw material for the industries of both imperialist powers. He surrendered due to the political reality and also because he got over his drunken stupor and the hangover.
US dominance is to be seen in simple economic figures. The US has a favourable economic trade balance with Colombia and in 2024 exported US $1.031 billion more than it imported from the country. Though before the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) it always had a negative trade balance, importing many primary products and exporting very few finished products.[2] The FTA allowed the USA to significantly increase the export of its agricultural surpluses in what can only be described as dumping, defined as commercial practice of selling below cost to take control of the market, seriously harming it.[3]
Colombia’s agricultural exports are important and it is worth pointing out that Petro has time and again stated he wants to intensify, further still, the agro-industrialisation of the countryside and that the country produce even more cash crops. In total, Colombia exported US $4,015,437,000 in 2023 and US $4,300,383,000 to following 19 countries. It is clear that the USA is the main destiny for its agricultural exports. Without access to that market the Colombian countryside would collapse. The main product, in terms of value, is green coffee bean whose exports were US $$ 2,823,505,000 i.e. 70% of the total value of agricultural exports relies on just one crop and it represents 46% of all the USA’s coffee imports.[4]
It doesn’t matter what the product is, the US is one of the main markets for Colombian exports. For example, in the case of flowers, in 2022, Colombia exported US $2.050 billion and of that figure US $1.636 billion was to the USA, the fastest growing market for Colombian flowers.[5] And Trump aimed to place a tariff of 25% on Colombian flowers. The value of its exports is half that of the main flower exporter in the world, the Netherlands (No.1) and double that of the neighbouring country of Ecuador (No.3). Colombia increasingly specialises in cash crops. But it is not Petro’s fault, that whole process began a long time ago, but he is to blame for promoting this policy over and again. He has repeatedly stated that the Colombian countryside must be agro-industrialised when 68% of land under crops are dedicated to just six crops, most of them cash crops: coffee (15,6%), rice (12.4%) palm (12.3%) corn (10,1%), sugar cane (9,7%) and plantains (8,8%).[6] Some of these can be consumed internally, such as corn, though the level of specialisation is unprecedented and even in the case of corn there are problems with self-sufficiency for the country due in large part to the FTA.
Whilst the country increasingly intensifies its role as a provider of agricultural raw materials, it imports the basic grains that it used to grow. According to FENALCE (National Federation of Cereal Growers):
However, the relationship started off on the backfoot due to his statements on Panama and his intention to take the canal. The migrant issue caused the first crisis between Trump and Colombia over the use of military planes to deport Colombians and the inhumane conditions in which they travelled. Petro refused permission for the military plane to land provoking the ire of Trump who responded by imposing tariffs and cancelling visas for Colombian functionaries, almost starting his economic war with Colombia before he had even got round to Canada, Mexico and China.
Petro responded by imposing his own tariffs in a romantic missive citing US authors that Trump surely does not know, such as Miller and Walt Whitman. Trump, perhaps, thinks that Whitman is a pseudonym for Disney. Petro’s response was poetic and delirious at the same time, comparing himself to Salvador Allende and affirming his willingness to die for the cause. Some commentators asked about his state of sobriety when he wrote it and it does seem he was under the influence of some substance. We hope it was not something banned in the USA: all we need is them seeking his extradition.
Petro in his statement vehemently declared as if he were Che storming Santa Clara that “I die as I have lived, I survived torture and I will survive you.” And in an attempt to be put forward for a literature prize he stated “You will kill me, but I will live on in my people, which is more than yours, the Americas. We are a people of the winds, the mountains, of the Caribbean sea and freedom.” Petro bowed down in less than 24 hours because, despite insisting that Colombia is not a colony, it is and this is not new. Colombia is a colony of both the USA and the European Union and its economy depends on its exports of raw material for the industries of both imperialist powers. He surrendered due to the political reality and also because he got over his drunken stupor and the hangover.
US dominance is to be seen in simple economic figures. The US has a favourable economic trade balance with Colombia and in 2024 exported US $1.031 billion more than it imported from the country. Though before the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) it always had a negative trade balance, importing many primary products and exporting very few finished products.[2] The FTA allowed the USA to significantly increase the export of its agricultural surpluses in what can only be described as dumping, defined as commercial practice of selling below cost to take control of the market, seriously harming it.[3]
Colombia’s agricultural exports are important and it is worth pointing out that Petro has time and again stated he wants to intensify, further still, the agro-industrialisation of the countryside and that the country produce even more cash crops. In total, Colombia exported US $4,015,437,000 in 2023 and US $4,300,383,000 to following 19 countries. It is clear that the USA is the main destiny for its agricultural exports. Without access to that market the Colombian countryside would collapse. The main product, in terms of value, is green coffee bean whose exports were US $$ 2,823,505,000 i.e. 70% of the total value of agricultural exports relies on just one crop and it represents 46% of all the USA’s coffee imports.[4]
It doesn’t matter what the product is, the US is one of the main markets for Colombian exports. For example, in the case of flowers, in 2022, Colombia exported US $2.050 billion and of that figure US $1.636 billion was to the USA, the fastest growing market for Colombian flowers.[5] And Trump aimed to place a tariff of 25% on Colombian flowers. The value of its exports is half that of the main flower exporter in the world, the Netherlands (No.1) and double that of the neighbouring country of Ecuador (No.3). Colombia increasingly specialises in cash crops. But it is not Petro’s fault, that whole process began a long time ago, but he is to blame for promoting this policy over and again. He has repeatedly stated that the Colombian countryside must be agro-industrialised when 68% of land under crops are dedicated to just six crops, most of them cash crops: coffee (15,6%), rice (12.4%) palm (12.3%) corn (10,1%), sugar cane (9,7%) and plantains (8,8%).[6] Some of these can be consumed internally, such as corn, though the level of specialisation is unprecedented and even in the case of corn there are problems with self-sufficiency for the country due in large part to the FTA.
Whilst the country increasingly intensifies its role as a provider of agricultural raw materials, it imports the basic grains that it used to grow. According to FENALCE (National Federation of Cereal Growers):
Between corn, soya, soyabean meal, barley and kidney beans we are currently importing more than 14 million tonnes of grains…
According to figures from the Rural Agricultural Planning Unit – UPRA Colombia has a potential of 16,046,413 hectares suitable for growing corn, and in 2024 only 354,931 hectares were planted…
In 2024, the national production of yellow corn was 1,104,517 tonnes whilst we imported 5,920,792 tonnes of this corn which accounts for 84.2% of all consumption; and for its part the national production of white corn was 454,677 tonnes and 322,103 tonnes were imported representing 41.6% of total consumption.
With these statistics we can see that Colombia consumes corn at a greater rate than it produces it, and increasingly relies on corn brought in mainly from the USA, importing 99% of yellow corn from there and 100% of white corn in 2024.[7]
Petro bowed down because he sobered up and also because someone else, perhaps his protégé Sarabia explained the economic reality of the country to him and how he has done little or nothing to counter it. Rather his agrarian policy intensifies the agricultural dependence. Furthermore, despite his skill with the pen, the force of reason always requires some reason of force and Petro not only does not have any, he doesn’t want it. Petro’s government is not a left wing one, something he has recognised himself; he disparaged the youths from the National Strike as vandals and they are still in jail. His braying about an economic war and his willingness to die with his boots on is not serious. Whoever goes out willing to die with their boots on against the US will end up dead or in jail by order of Petro. As Carlos Serna in Canarias Semanal puts it:
The recent history of Colombia, with more shadows than light shows us that real autonomy does not flow from mere “anti-imperialist” rhetoric, but rather from the organisation and power of the people.[8]
[1] Infobae (21/01/2025) Donald Trump: “Estados Unidos no necesita a Latinoamérica, ellos nos necesitan”.
[2] See.
[3] For a detailed explanation of dumping see.
[4] Figures taken from FAOSTAT
[5] Floral Daily (11/10/2023) Colombian flower industry in numbers.
[6] Véase.
[7] Fenalce (15/01/2024) En Colombia faltan garantías para sembrar máiz: Fenalce.
[8] Canarias Semanal (28/01/2025) Petro se pliega ante Trump: La fragilidad de una “soberanía” sin respaldo popular. Carlos Serna.
⏩ Gearóid Ó Loingsigh is a political and human rights activist with extensive experience in Latin America.
Always enjoy these pieces, must admit I had a good laugh at someone responding to Trump with drunken poem! Musta had a wee bit of us in him! lol
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