Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the rhetoric of their exchange, heightening tensions bilaterally after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs cocaine mills and production sites and that won't last much longer," the US president stated.
Rising Threats and Accusations
Speaking to the press on Sunday, the American leader hinted at similar use of force towards the South American nation, asserting the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man who enjoys creating the drug and selling it to the United States."
Although Colombia is the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally involved in the trade.
A Strained Relationship
The country for decades served as a staunch collaborator of Washington in the fight against drug trafficking and enjoyed wide political approval in the US capital, but relations have worsened markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s drug trade is predominantly run by illegal armed groups including one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members demobilised following a landmark accord.
Colombia's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned if military intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump replied: "It sounds good to me personally."
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed in the last century, rejected Trump's claims. "I am not an illegitimate leader and I am not a drug trafficker," he stated.
"The US president speaks without information. Cease defaming me," he posted in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the hills. And should they arrest me, which a large part of the country loves and respects, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member of the leftist M-19 armed organization although reports indicate that he never took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he participated in creating the nation's constitution in the early 90s and eventually served as a prominent senator. He was mayor of the capital city before winning president.
"I pledged to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for Colombia I would take up the fight," he said.
Heightened Measures and Cross-Political Condemnation
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Petro's security detail had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with the US president, but voices from across the ideological divide have rejected the threats of an invasion against their nation.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
Washington revoked his travel authorization following he urged American soldiers to ignore unlawful commands. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions against the president, his wife and a number of key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its military presence in the region and striking suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out operations against vessels off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
