Trump said ‘we appreciate’ that Colombia sells cocaine to the US

Claim:

U.S. President Donald Trump said: “I hear Colombia, the country of Colombia, is making cocaine. They have cocaine manufacturing plants, OK? And then they sell us their cocaine. We appreciate that very much.”

Rating:

Context

Trump’s intent behind the remark was unclear. We have reached out to the White House to learn more. Right after making the statement, Trump said anyone bringing drugs into the U.S. “is subject to attack.”

On Dec. 2, 2025, during the White House’s last Cabinet meeting of the year, U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly thanked Colombia for selling cocaine to the U.S. Trump was responding to journalists’ questions about a reported strike by the U.S. military on an suspected drug boat in September 2025, saying he would consider land strikes on drug traffickers.

According to posts on social media, Trump said “we appreciate” that Colombia sells the U.S. its cocaine. The office of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X, “After pardoning and releasing multiple drug traffickers from federal prison, Trump thanks Colombia for manufacturing cocaine and sending it to the United States.”

Trump did not say that he “thanked” Colombia for selling cocaine to the U.S., but he did say “they sell us their cocaine. We appreciate that very much.” We thus rate this a correct attribution. His intent behind that remark was not clear. We reached out to the White House to learn more and will update this post accordingly. 

We reproduced the journalist’s question, and Trump’s full comments below (emphasis ours).

TRUMP: And we are going to start doing those strikes on land, too. You know the land is much easier. It’s much easier. And we know the routes they take, we know everything about ’em. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we’re gonna start that very soon too.”

REPORTER: You just mentioned potential land strikes. Can you elaborate anything on that?”

TRUMP: Yeah, I’ll elaborate. If they come in through a certain country or any country or if we think they’re building mills for whether it’s fentanyl or cocaine. I hear Colombia, the country of Colombia is making cocaine. They have cocaine manufacturing plants, OK? And then they sell us their cocaine. We appreciate that very much. But yeah, anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack.

REPORTER: So not necessarily just Venezuela.

TRUMP: No, not just Venezuela. No.

Right after saying, “We appreciate that very much”, Trump clearly threatened to attack anyone he believes are responsible for drug trafficking in the U.S. We are unable to determine whether he said the remark as a joke, sarcastically, or without any intent at all.

A clip of Trump’s comments can be seen here and at the 2:12:28 mark in the White House’s official livestream below:

Trump was discussing the September 2025 U.S. missile strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea reportedly traveling from Venezuela. In subsequent weeks, the U.S. carried out similar strikes in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean. According to news reports, around 83 people have been killed on suspected drug-smuggling boats.

Trump’s comments indicated that he was open to expanding his anti-drug-smuggling operations to land. While he did not specify at first where and when such operations would occur, on Dec. 3, Trump said to reporters, “If you look at our numbers, the drugs coming in through sea are down 91%. … But it’s down 91 and we’re going to start very soon on land and I’m sure you’re very thrilled to hear that.”

We have previously reported on rumors surrounding the identities of the people killed in the boat strikes.

Sources

Botelho, Jessica. “‘We’re Going to Start Very Soon on Land,’ Trump Says amid Ongoing Venezuelan Boat Strikes.” WJAR, 3 Dec. 2025, https://turnto10.com/news/nation-world/were-going-to-start-very-soon-on-land-trump-says-amid-ongoing-venezuelan-boat-strikes-president-donald-trump-secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-attacks-war. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025. 

Christensen, Laerke. “Breaking down Report Man Killed in Venezuelan ‘drug Boat’ Strikes Was Actually Fisherman with 4 Children.” Snopes, 30 Sept. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/09/30/venezuela-drug-boats-fisherman/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.

“How the White House Account of September Boat Strike Has Evolved.” BBC, 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gk7eg83eno. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.

Ibrahim, Nur. “Pete Hegseth’s Title Was Misspelled as ‘Ssecretary of War’ on Nameplate.” Snopes, 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/hegseth-ssecretary-of-war-name-plate/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.

“New Details Emerge about Controversial Sept. 2 Strike on Alleged Drug Boat That Killed Survivors.” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/new-details-emerge-controversial-sept-2-strike-alleged/story?id=128090044. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.

“President Trump Hosts a Cabinet Meeting, Dec. 2, 2025 .” YouTube, The White House, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZSd7jn9CSc. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025. 

“Trump Says That the US Will Start Doing Strikes on Land, Aimed at Drug Cartels, Soon .” AP Newsroom, 2 Dec. 2025, https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=f4dc8dc8f6e5403d86af5293d6b5f8c8&mediatype=video. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.