President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume in their verbal conflict, further raising strains in their relations after US forces targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has narcotics facilities and production sites and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Growing Threats and Claims
Speaking to journalists over the weekend, the US president suggested comparable armed intervention towards the South American nation, asserting Colombia is also "very ill" and led by a problematic figure involved in producing cocaine and trafficking it to the United States."
Although Colombia is the leading cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly involved in the business.
A Strained Alliance
Colombia has long been a key ally of the United States in the struggle against narcotics trade and enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have soured significantly following Trump came to office.
Colombia’s narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups like the Clan del Golfo, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, a large contingent of whom demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Defiant Rebuttal
Upon being questioned if a military operation comparable to Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the 1990s, rejected these allegations. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not a narco," he affirmed.
"He comments without information. Stop slandering me," he expressed online.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a significant portion of the country holds in high esteem, they will release the powerful force of the people," he admonished.
From Fighter to Leader
The president dedicated a period in his early life belonging in the left-wing M-19 armed organization though it is believed that he never participated in combat. After demobilizing, he took part in writing the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a prominent senator. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before winning the nation's highest office.
"I made a vow not to touch a weapon again ... but for Colombia I would take up the fight," he said.
Increased Security and Broad Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief stated that Petro's security detail had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures spanning the ideological divide have condemned the possibility of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
American authorities withdrew his travel authorization following he called on American soldiers to disobey any illegal orders. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions targeting Petro, his wife and various close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its forces in the region and striking suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
