The US President and President Gustavo Petro have intensified the tone of their war of words, increasing tensions between the two countries following American military units struck Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates drug factories and cocaine factories and that won't last much longer," the US president stated.
Rising Rhetoric and Allegations
Addressing journalists on Sunday, Trump suggested comparable armed intervention against Colombia, stating the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man who likes making narcotics and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia remains the leading cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally connected to the trade.
A Deteriorating Partnership
The country has long been a key ally of the US in the fight combating drug cartels and benefited from cross-party backing in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured significantly following Trump assumed the presidency.
Its drug trade is largely controlled by criminal organizations such as the Clan del Golfo, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members demobilised after a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Strong Answer
In response to a query if military intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed in the 1990s, rejected Trump's claims. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not a drug trafficker," he affirmed.
"Trump speaks without information. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a post.
"Should American forces attack rural communities, they will become thousands of guerrillas in the hills. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a large part of the country holds in high esteem, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the people," he admonished.
From Insurgent to Leader
He passed some years as a young man as a member in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed he did not participated in combat. After demobilizing, he was involved in writing the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He was mayor of Bogotá before being elected president.
"I swore to never again hold a weapon again ... but for Colombia I would take up arms again," he said.
Reinforced Protection and Broad Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister announced that the national leader's security detail had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures from all sides of the political spectrum have denounced the notion of an invasion on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Strains
American authorities withdrew the president's entry visa following he encouraged American soldiers to refuse unlawful commands. In October, the US enacted financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and a number of associates.
Simultaneously the US was building up its military presence near Venezuela and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out operations on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
