President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro traded angry threats Wednesday as the United States announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead.Trump branded Petro a “thug” and suggested he was a drug trafficker leading his country to ruin, prompting the leftist leader to vow: “I will defend myself legally with American lawyers.”The US president also said vital military aid to Bogota had been cut and warned Petro — a sharp critic of the strikes — to “watch it,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Colombian leader a “lunatic.”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meanwhile announced two strikes on boats in the Pacific — one on Wednesday and another the day before — in social media posts showing the vessels being engulfed in flames.”Just as Al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness — only justice,” wrote Hegseth.The strikes, which Hegseth said were carried out in international waters, bring the total number of such US attacks to at least nine, with 37 people dead, according to US figures.Until now the strikes had only taken place in the Caribbean.The origin of the targeted vessels — eight boats and one semi-submersible — has not been disclosed, though some were destroyed off Venezuela’s coast. – ‘Unacceptable’ -At least one came from Trinidad and Tobago, another from Colombia, families of those killed told AFP.Washington has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships as part of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets were drug smugglers.The Pentagon told Congress the United States is in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, designating them as terrorist groups and describing suspected smugglers as “unlawful combatants.”Experts say the summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed traffickers.Regional tensions have flared, with Colombia recalling its ambassador to Washington and Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who said Wednesday that his country has 5,000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to counter US forces.Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer, but has worked for decades alongside the United States to curb production, which is controlled by a range of well-funded paramilitary, cartel and guerrilla groups.But relations have soured markedly since Trump and Petro have taken power, with the fued intensifying in recent weeks over the Republican president’s deadly anti-drug campaign.”Under no circumstances can one justify that kind of threats and accusations that have no basis whatsoever,” Colombian ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena told AFP after being recalled to Bogota for consultations.”There are elements that are unacceptable,” he said, visibly alarmed after being told what Trump had said minutes before.”We are facing a US government that is trying to change the paradigm of its international relations” Garcia-Pena added, “where uncertainty unfortunately plays a very important role.””At stake here is a historic relationship of more than 200 years that benefits both the United States and Colombia,” he said.

Facebook owner Meta is cutting 600 jobs in its artificial intelligence division in a move intended to streamline operations after an aggressive hiring spree, US media reported Wednesday.The job cuts will not affect the TBD Lab, an operation established by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other publications. The lab’s staffing was quickly grown through the poaching of top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple.Rather, the job cuts will target teams focused on artificial intelligence products and infrastructure, aiming to boost efficiency without sacrificing work on the company’s most ambitious ventures, according to a Wall Street Journal report that said many of the affected workers could be deployed elsewhere by the company.The New York Times described the job cuts as aimed at addressing “organizational bloat” following aggressive hiring to build up the AI program.Both newspapers quoted a memo from Chief AI Office Alexandr Wang that the job cuts mean “fewer conversations will be required to make a decision.”Meta did not respond to an AFP query on the matter.

Standing in the middle of a parking lot in suburban Washington, surrounded by hundreds of federal employees waiting for food handouts amid the US government shutdown, Diane Miller summed it up simply. “How am I gonna eat?” the 74-year-old public servant asked bitterly.When her turn came, she showed her government employee card and received two boxes, one with fresh fruits and vegetables, the other with shelf-stable goods. Every bit of it is necessary since her paycheck went to zero.The vast majority of federal employees have been furloughed since October 1 and are going without income because a budget impasse between Republicans and Democrats has forced a shutdown of the government.Overall, more than 600,000 federal workers have been affected by the shutdown, according to media reports.”I need to put food on my table, too, even if it’s going to make me fat,” Miller said with a laugh, but her eyes shone with anger.”I deserve to be in line, getting whatever benefits I can get.”Federal employees all over the country are turning to food banks and charities for a lifeline. On Wednesday in Washington, over 310 boxes packed with $75 worth of groceries were distributed in less than an hour.  “You have people that two weeks ago had a steady paycheck and had nice, normal lives, and suddenly the rug is pulled out from under you, and you find yourself in a food line,” said Dave Silbert, head of So What Else, the food bank co-organizing the distribution.Miller has worked in federal and local government for more than 50 years.”No one deserves to be treated the way that we’re being treated right now — and to watch them tear down the people’s house and to build some fancy ballroom when that money could be taking care of Americans,” she said, referring to the $250-million White House renovation that broke ground this week.”We should be a proud country right now. I’m sad to be an American.”- Ups and downs -Waiting in line, Adrian, a tax law expert who has worked in public service for 33 years, vents painful frustrations.”We can barely make a mortgage payment, but we have other bills to pay, utilities, cell phones, like everything. It’s a domino effect,” said Adrian, who declined to disclose her last name for fear of reprisals.”All of those congressmen, senators, they’re getting paid. We’re not,” she added. “So they should not have a paycheck. If we don’t have a paycheck, they should feel what we’re feeling.”Adrian points to how federal workers were vilified under President Donald Trump’s policies, which included sweeping job cuts carried out through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).”We’re just doing our jobs, which is part of the federal government, and all of a sudden we became the enemy of the state,” she said.The budget paralysis has lasted for 22 days, already the second-longest shutdown in the country’s history. The political gridlock worries Amber, a mother of two children and human resources worker for the US Army. “I’m actually in the middle of a divorce as well, so I already had to take out a $20,000 loan just to afford housing. So now with no paycheck, I’m really struggling, so that’s why I’m here today to get food.”As the federal shutdown wears on, affected employees can’t help but look ahead — to colder winter months and the holidays.”How do you think people feel? They’re struggling. And it’s not just one group of people, it’s everybody,” Miller said. With a strained smile, as a Black woman who says she has dedicated her life to civil rights, Miller blames Trump for the country’s current condition.”They need to get that man out of here, period.”