The US President along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the volume of their exchange, heightening strains bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates narcotics facilities and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Escalating Tensions and Allegations
Addressing reporters on Sunday, Trump threatened analogous military action against Colombia, claiming the country is also "very ill" and “run by a problematic figure who likes making the drug and trafficking it to America."
While Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Partnership
The country for decades served as a close partner of Washington in the campaign against drug trafficking and received wide political approval in the US capital, but relations have soured markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s drug trade is predominantly run by illegal armed groups like one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, a large contingent of whom laid down arms following a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Response
When asked if military intervention like that in Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the 1990s, rejected these allegations. "I am no an illegitimate leader and certainly not a drug trafficker," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks without knowledge. Cease defaming me," he posted in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb civilians, they will become a multitude of fighters across the countryside. And should they arrest the president, which a significant portion of the population loves and respects, they will release the powerful force of the populace," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed he did not participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in creating a new constitution in the early 90s and later became a prominent senator. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I swore not to touch a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures along with Widespread Condemnation
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that Petro's protection team had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have expressed support with the US president, but voices from across the political spectrum have rejected the possibility of an invasion targeting Colombia.
Political and Economic Strains
The US withdrew his travel authorization after he called on US military personnel to ignore any illegal orders. Months later, it placed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his spouse and a number of key allies.
Concurrently the US was building up its military presence in the region and striking alleged narcotics traffickers against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted attacks against vessels in Pacific waters near Colombia.
