The US President and his Colombian counterpart have escalated the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions bilaterally following American military units targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He operates drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Growing Rhetoric coupled with Accusations
Addressing reporters over the weekend, Trump hinted at comparable armed intervention against Bogotá, stating the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man involved in producing narcotics and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia stands as the world’s largest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly involved in the business.
A Strained Relationship
This nation for decades served as a close partner of the United States in the struggle against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have soured dramatically after Trump came to office.
The nation's narcotics trade is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups like one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and dissident factions of the demobilized Farc, a large contingent of whom demobilised subsequent to a landmark accord.
Colombia's Firm Answer
Upon being questioned whether a military operation similar to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "That seems like a good idea to me personally."
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised decades ago, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am not an illegitimate leader nor am I involved in narcotics," he declared.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he posted in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will become numerous insurgents in the mountains. And should they arrest me, which a large part of Colombians admires and supports, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the people," he admonished.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent a period in his early life participating of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed to have ever participated in combat. Following his disarmament, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a prominent senator. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I pledged to abstain from using a gun ... but in defense of my country I shall resume the fight," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures and Cross-Political Rejection
The Colombian defence minister reported that Petro's security detail had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump, yet figures spanning the political spectrum have denounced the possibility of American military action on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Pressure
The US cancelled the president's entry visa following he called on US troops to disobey orders that violate law. Months later, it placed asset freezes against the president, his wife and several key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its forces in the region and bombing suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed attacks on maritime targets in Pacific waters near Colombia.
