The US President along with Colombia's president have escalated the volume of their exchange, further raising tensions bilaterally after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs narcotics facilities and processing labs and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Tensions and Accusations
Talking to reporters over the weekend, the US president threatened comparable armed intervention against Colombia, stating Colombia faces serious problems and led by an unwell individual who enjoys creating the drug and selling it to the US."
While Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly involved in the trade.
A Strained Relationship
The country has long been a key ally of Washington in the struggle combating drug cartels and benefited from wide political approval from American politicians, however, the relationship have deteriorated significantly following Trump assumed the presidency.
Its illicit drug economy is predominantly run by criminal organizations like the Clan del Golfo, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
When asked whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that from my perspective."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle in the last century, rejected these allegations. "I am no an illegitimate leader and certainly not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will become a multitude of fighters in the hills. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
The president dedicated some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 armed organization but is not believed to have ever participated in combat. After demobilizing, he was involved in drafting the nation's constitution in 1991 and later became an influential politician. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I pledged not to touch arms again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume the fight," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures and Cross-Political Rejection
The Colombian defence minister announced that Petro's protection team had received additional support.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures from all sides of Colombian politics have rejected the possibility of American military action on Colombia.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
American authorities withdrew the president's entry visa after he urged American soldiers to ignore orders that violate law. In October, it placed financial sanctions targeting Petro, the first lady and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its forces near Venezuela and bombing suspected drug boats to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed operations on boats in Pacific waters near Colombia.
