Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the rhetoric of their exchange, further raising strains between the two countries after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has cocaine mills and processing labs and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Escalating Threats coupled with Accusations
Talking to the press over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous use of force against Bogotá, stating the country is also "very ill" and governed by an unwell individual who enjoys creating cocaine and selling it to the US."
While Colombia remains the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally involved in the trade.
A Deteriorating Partnership
This nation for decades served as a close partner of Washington in the fight against drug trafficking and enjoyed bipartisan support in the US capital, but relations have deteriorated significantly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is largely controlled by criminal organizations like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters demobilised subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Answer
Upon being questioned whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered regarding Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the last century, firmly denied these allegations. "I am not illegitimate and I am not involved in narcotics," he affirmed.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a post.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will transform into numerous insurgents across the countryside. And if they detain the nation's leader, which many of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed to have ever participated in combat. Following his disarmament, he took part in writing the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I made a vow not to touch a weapon again ... but for the homeland I would take up the fight," he affirmed.
Increased Security and Widespread Opposition
The Colombian defence minister reported that the president’s personal security was strengthened.
A segment of Colombia’s right wing opposition have expressed support with Trump, yet figures from across the political spectrum have condemned the notion of an invasion against their nation.
Bilateral and Financial Sanctions
American authorities revoked Petro’s visa after he encouraged US troops to ignore any illegal orders. In October, authorities imposed financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and various close collaborators.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean and targeting alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out strikes on maritime targets in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
