The US President along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, increasing tensions in their relations after US forces struck Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Rising Threats and Allegations
Speaking to the press over the weekend, the US president threatened similar use of force towards the South American nation, asserting the nation is also "very ill" and governed by a sick man who enjoys creating the drug and selling it to America."
Although Colombia remains the world’s largest source of the narcotic, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally connected to the business.
A Frayed Relationship
This nation was historically a close partner of the United States in the campaign against narcotics trade and benefited from cross-party backing in the US capital, however, the relationship have worsened markedly after Trump came to office.
The nation's drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations such as the Clan del Golfo, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Strong Response
When asked whether military intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump replied: "That seems like a good idea to me."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the last century, firmly denied these allegations. "I am not illegitimate and certainly not a narco," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he expressed online.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will transform into a multitude of fighters across the countryside. If they capture the nation's leader, which many of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the powerful force of the people," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed to have ever took part in armed clashes. Upon leaving the group, he took part in drafting a new constitution in 1991 subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá prior to his election the nation's highest office.
"I swore to never again hold a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he said.
Increased Security along with Widespread Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief announced that the national leader's security detail had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump's stance, yet figures from across the political spectrum have rejected the notion of an invasion against their nation.
Political and Economic Sanctions
American authorities cancelled Petro’s visa following he encouraged US military personnel to refuse orders that violate law. Later, in October, authorities imposed asset freezes against the president, the first lady and several associates.
Concurrently while America bolstered its military presence in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed strikes on maritime targets off the Pacific coast adjacent to Colombia.
