The US President along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, increasing strains bilaterally following US forces struck Venezuela in an operation to oust the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs drug factories and production sites and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Growing Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Talking to reporters on Sunday, Trump hinted at similar armed intervention against Bogotá, asserting Colombia is also "very ill" and led by a sick man who enjoys creating narcotics and trafficking it to the US."
While Colombia is the world’s largest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the business.
A Frayed Partnership
Colombia has long been a staunch collaborator of the US in the fight against drug trafficking and received cross-party backing in Washington, yet ties have deteriorated significantly after Trump came to office.
Colombia’s narcotics trade is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions including one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded following a landmark accord.
The President's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility for Colombia, Trump said: "That seems like a good idea to me."
Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the 1990s, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am no illegitimate and I am not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a post.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will become thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. If they capture the nation's leader, which a large part of Colombians loves and respects, they will unleash the powerful force of the populace," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to President
The president dedicated some years as a young man participating in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed he did not participated in combat. After demobilizing, he was involved in drafting the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s subsequently becoming a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election the presidency.
"I made a vow not to touch a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures and Broad Condemnation
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that the national leader's protection team was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have expressed support with Trump's stance, yet figures from across the political spectrum have denounced the possibility of an invasion against their nation.
Bilateral and Economic Sanctions
The US revoked Petro’s visa subsequent to he encouraged American soldiers to ignore any illegal orders. In October, authorities imposed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his spouse and a number of close collaborators.
At the same time the US was building up its forces in the Caribbean and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed operations on boats off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
