Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the rhetoric of their war of words, further raising tensions between the two countries following American military units attacked Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has drug factories and production sites and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Threats and Accusations
Addressing the press over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous armed intervention against Colombia, claiming the country is “very sick too” and led by an unwell individual who likes making narcotics and distributing it to the US."
Although Colombia remains the leading producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication linking President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is in any way tied to the business.
A Deteriorating Partnership
Colombia for decades served as a close partner of Washington in the fight against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in Washington, but relations have soured dramatically since Trump was elected.
Colombia’s drug trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups like the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters disbanded subsequent to a landmark accord.
The President's Firm Answer
When asked if military intervention like that in Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump replied: "It sounds good from my perspective."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the 1990s, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am neither illegitimate and I am not a drug trafficker," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks without information. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will become thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. If they capture the president, whom a significant portion of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the powerful force of the populace," Petro warned.
From Fighter to Leader
The president dedicated some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 armed organization though it is believed that he never participated in combat. After demobilizing, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He was mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election the nation's highest office.
"I swore to abstain from using a gun ... but for the homeland I shall resume weapons once more," he said.
Heightened Measures and Broad Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister announced that Petro's protection team was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with Trump's stance, yet figures from across the ideological divide have denounced the possibility of an invasion on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Strains
The US cancelled his travel authorization subsequent to he urged US military personnel to disobey any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed asset freezes on Petro, his wife and various associates.
At the same time while America bolstered its forces near Venezuela and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out strikes against vessels off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
