New Delhi, Jan. 8 -- An "abhorrent" violation of Latin American sovereignty. An attack committed by "enslavers." A "spectacle of death" comparable to Nazi Germany's 1937 carpet bombing of Guernica, Spain.

There is perhaps no world leader criticizing the Trump administration's attack on Venezuela as strongly as left-wing President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, historically Washington's most important ally in the region.

For the past 30 years, the U.S. has worked closely with Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine, to arrest drug traffickers, fend off rebel groups and boost economic development in rural areas.

But while other officials tread carefully, Colombia's outspoken president has seized on the U.S. capture of Venezuelan Pr...