Donald Trump along with his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume in their verbal conflict, increasing tensions between the two countries after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Escalating Tensions and Allegations
Speaking to journalists over the weekend, the US president threatened comparable armed intervention against Colombia, asserting the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man who likes making the drug and distributing it to the US."
Although Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly involved in the illicit industry.
A Strained Relationship
The country was historically a key ally of Washington in the fight combating drug cartels and received wide political approval from American politicians, yet ties have deteriorated dramatically after Trump came to office.
The nation's narcotics trade is predominantly run by guerrilla factions like the Clan del Golfo, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members demobilised after a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Strong Rebuttal
Upon being questioned whether armed intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump said: "That seems like a good idea from my perspective."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the last century, firmly denied the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not a narco," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he expressed in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb civilians, they will transform into numerous insurgents across the countryside. And if they detain the nation's leader, whom a large part of the population holds in high esteem, they will release the powerful force of the nation," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to President
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging with the radical M-19 armed organization although reports indicate he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in writing a new constitution in 1991 and eventually served as a prominent senator. He served as mayor of Bogotá prior to his election the presidency.
"I made a vow to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for the homeland I shall resume the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures and Cross-Political Opposition
The Colombian defence minister reported that Petro's personal security had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have expressed support with the US president, but voices from across Colombian politics have condemned the notion of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Political and Economic Strains
American authorities cancelled the president's entry visa following he called on US military personnel to disobey unlawful commands. Later, in October, it placed financial sanctions against the president, his wife and several key allies.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its forces near Venezuela and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces executed operations on boats off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
