Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said he is ready to take up arms to defend his homeland and expressed confidence that the country's people will stand under his protection if the United States tries to take him prisoner, like Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
"Although I have never been a soldier, I know what war and underground struggle are. I vowed never to take up arms again after the 1989 peace agreement, but for the sake of my homeland, I will take up again the arms that I don't like," wrote Petron X. In his youth, Petro was a member of the left-wing radical "Movement of April 19" (M-19).
Petro also expressed confidence that the Colombian people are ready to protect them.
"If they arrest the president whom the majority of my people love and respect, they will release the jaguar of the people," the Colombian leader insisted.
He also announced that he ordered the dismissal of several colonels from the police intelligence service "for transmitting false information to the detriment of the state". "I hope [US Secretary of State Marco] Rubio doesn't believe those lies," Petro added.
