President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions bilaterally following US forces targeted Venezuela with the aim of deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He operates cocaine mills and production sites and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Rising Threats and Allegations
Talking to reporters over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous military action against Colombia, asserting the nation faces serious problems and governed by a problematic figure who enjoys creating the drug and distributing it to the United States."
Although Colombia stands as the leading cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way tied to the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Partnership
This nation has long been a key ally of Washington in the struggle against drug trafficking and enjoyed wide political approval in the US capital, but relations have deteriorated dramatically after Trump was elected.
The nation's illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups including one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members demobilised after a landmark accord.
Petro's Defiant Answer
Upon being questioned if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was a possibility for Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good to me."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the 1990s, rejected Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader nor am I involved in narcotics," he stated.
"Trump speaks without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he expressed online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will transform into a multitude of fighters across the countryside. And should they arrest the nation's leader, which a significant portion of the country holds in high esteem, they will release the fierce spirit of the populace," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed to have ever engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a prominent senator. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election president.
"I made a vow not to touch arms again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he said.
Increased Security and Cross-Political Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister reported that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have condemned the threats of a US attack against their nation.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
The US revoked the president's entry visa following he urged US military personnel to ignore any illegal orders. Months later, it placed asset freezes against the president, his spouse and several close collaborators.
Concurrently the US was building up its military presence in the Caribbean and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted attacks on maritime targets off the Pacific coast adjacent to Colombia.
