Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the volume of their war of words, further raising tensions in their relations following US forces attacked Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs cocaine mills and cocaine factories and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Rhetoric and Claims
Talking to the press on Sunday, Trump threatened analogous military action towards the South American nation, stating Colombia is “very sick too” and governed by a problematic figure who enjoys creating narcotics and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia remains the leading producer of cocaine, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly involved in the business.
A Deteriorating Alliance
This nation has long been a close partner of the US in the campaign against narcotics trade and benefited from bipartisan support from American politicians, yet ties have soured significantly after Trump came to office.
The nation's narcotics trade is largely controlled by criminal organizations like one major cartel, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters disbanded subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
In response to a query whether armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good to me."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the last century, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and I am not a narco," he affirmed.
"He comments without knowledge. End the false accusations," he wrote in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the hills. And if they detain the nation's leader, which a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the powerful force of the nation," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed to have ever took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became a respected lawmaker. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I made a vow to abstain from using a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures and Broad Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that the president’s security detail had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s right wing opposition have expressed support with the US president, however, leaders from across the ideological divide have denounced the threats of an invasion against their nation.
Diplomatic and Economic Strains
The US cancelled his travel authorization after he urged American soldiers to ignore any illegal orders. Later, in October, the US enacted economic restrictions targeting Petro, his wife and several associates.
Concurrently the US was building up its troop levels in the region and bombing alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out strikes on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
