President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, heightening tensions in their relations after US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs drug factories and cocaine factories and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Rising Threats coupled with Claims
Talking to the press on Sunday, the US president hinted at analogous military action against Bogotá, stating the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man who enjoys creating narcotics and selling it to America."
While Colombia remains the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, no proof exists linking President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally involved in the trade.
A Strained Relationship
The country for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the United States in the fight combating drug cartels and enjoyed bipartisan support in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured dramatically after Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by criminal organizations like the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters laid down arms after a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle in the last century, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am not illegitimate and I am not a narco," he affirmed.
"Trump speaks without knowledge. End the false accusations," he wrote in a post.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will become thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And if they detain me, whom a significant portion of the country loves and respects, they will unleash the fierce spirit of the nation," Petro warned.
From Fighter to Statesman
The president dedicated some years as a young man participating with the radical M-19 guerrilla group though it is believed to have ever took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a prominent senator. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I would take up the fight," he said.
Heightened Measures along with Broad Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister reported that the national leader's security detail had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s political right have sided with Trump, yet figures from all sides of the ideological divide have rejected the threats of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Diplomatic and Financial Pressure
Washington withdrew his travel authorization subsequent to he encouraged US troops to refuse any illegal orders. In October, it placed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his wife and several key allies.
Concurrently the US was building up its forces in the Caribbean and striking suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out operations on boats off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
