Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the volume in their verbal conflict, heightening strains in their relations following American military units attacked Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Growing Tensions coupled with Claims
Addressing the press over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous military action towards the South American nation, claiming the nation is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making the drug and distributing it to the US."
Although Colombia stands as the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally tied to the trade.
A Strained Partnership
Colombia for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the United States in the campaign against narcotics trade and received cross-party backing in Washington, however, the relationship have worsened markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Its drug trade is predominantly run by criminal organizations like the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members laid down arms after a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Rebuttal
Upon being questioned if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle decades ago, rejected these allegations. "I am no an illegitimate leader nor am I a narco," he stated.
"The US president speaks without information. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a post.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will transform into numerous insurgents in the hills. If they capture the president, whom a significant portion of the country loves and respects, they will release the powerful force of the people," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 armed organization though it is believed he did not took part in armed clashes. Upon leaving the group, he participated in creating the nation's constitution in 1991 and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He served as mayor of the capital city before winning the presidency.
"I made a vow not to touch arms again ... but in defense of my country I will take up arms again," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures and Widespread Condemnation
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the president’s personal security had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump, but voices from all sides of Colombian politics have denounced the possibility of an invasion against their nation.
Political and Economic Pressure
The US revoked Petro’s visa following he urged US military personnel to refuse any illegal orders. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions targeting Petro, his wife and several key allies.
Concurrently the US was building up its forces in the Caribbean and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out strikes on boats in Pacific waters near Colombia.
