The US President and President Gustavo Petro have turned up the rhetoric of their war of words, heightening strains bilaterally after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He operates cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Rising Threats and Accusations
Talking to the press on Sunday, Trump suggested comparable military action against Bogotá, stating Colombia is “very sick too” and “run by a problematic figure who enjoys creating cocaine and trafficking it to the US."
Although Colombia stands as the world’s largest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly connected to the illicit industry.
A Strained Partnership
The country was historically a key ally of the US in the campaign against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured dramatically after Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's drug trade is largely controlled by criminal organizations like one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members disbanded following a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Defiant Answer
When asked if a military operation comparable to Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the 1990s, categorically refuted these allegations. "I am no an illegitimate leader and certainly not a narco," he stated.
"The US president speaks without information. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a message.
"If US bombs target rural communities, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And if they detain me, which many of the country holds in high esteem, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the populace," he admonished.
From Insurgent to President
He passed some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 armed organization though it is believed to have ever engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and eventually served as an influential politician. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá before winning the presidency.
"I pledged to never again hold a gun ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he vowed.
Increased Security and Broad Opposition
The Colombian defence minister stated that the national leader's security detail had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have expressed support with Trump, but voices from all sides of the ideological divide have rejected the possibility of a US attack on Colombia.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
The US withdrew his travel authorization after he encouraged American soldiers to disobey any illegal orders. Months later, authorities imposed financial sanctions against the president, his spouse and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently the US was building up its forces near Venezuela and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
