BOGOTA, Oct 20 (Reuters): Colombia said on Monday it has recalled its ambassador from Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on the South American nation and stop all payments to it, intensifying a feud stemming from U.S. military strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs.

Trump also called Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader" on Sunday, which Petro's government described as offensive, marking a new low in relations between Bogota and Washington.

"Daniel Garcia-Pena, Ambassador of Colombia in the United States of America, has been recalled for consultations by President Gustavo Petro and is now in Bogota," Colombia's foreign ministry said. "In the coming hours the national government will inform of the decisions taken."

Petro has objected to the U.S. military's strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, which have killed dozens of people and inflamed tensions in the region. Many legal experts and human rights activists have also condemned the military actions.

Trump said U.S. financial aid to Colombia would be cut off and details about the new tariffs would be unveiled on Monday, but it was not clear what funding Trump was referring to.

Colombia was once among the largest recipients of U.S. aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of money was suddenly curtailed this year by the shuttering of USAID, the U.S. government's humanitarian arm.

As of late Monday evening, the Trump administration had made no tariff announcement, but Petro had held a meeting with U.S. charge d'affaires John McNamara at the presidential palace. No details of the meeting were made available.

Photo from Reuters