President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have intensified the tone of their war of words, heightening tensions between the two countries after US forces targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs narcotics facilities and processing labs and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Growing Threats and Accusations
Addressing reporters over the weekend, the American leader hinted at analogous armed intervention against Colombia, asserting the country faces serious problems and led by a problematic figure who likes making narcotics and trafficking it to the US."
Although Colombia is the leading cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is in any way involved in the illicit industry.
A Frayed Relationship
The country has long been a close partner of the US in the fight combating drug cartels and benefited from cross-party backing in the US capital, but relations have worsened significantly since Trump was elected.
The nation's narcotics trade is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions including the Clan del Golfo, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, a large contingent of whom demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Strong Rebuttal
In response to a query if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle decades ago, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate and I am not a drug trafficker," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he expressed in a message.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the president, whom a large part of the population holds in high esteem, they will release the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to Leader
The president dedicated a period in his early life as a member with the radical M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not took part in armed clashes. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in writing the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of the capital city before being elected the presidency.
"I swore not to touch arms again ... but for Colombia I will take up arms again," he affirmed.
Increased Security along with Cross-Political Opposition
Colombia's defense chief reported that the president’s security detail had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have expressed support with Trump, however, leaders from all sides of Colombian politics have rejected the possibility of a US attack on Colombia.
Bilateral and Economic Sanctions
American authorities revoked his travel authorization subsequent to he encouraged American soldiers to disobey any illegal orders. In October, it placed economic restrictions on Petro, his wife and a number of associates.
Concurrently the US was building up its forces near Venezuela and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out operations on maritime targets in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
