President Trump along with Colombia's president have turned up the volume in their verbal conflict, further raising strains between the two countries following US forces targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has narcotics facilities and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Escalating Tensions and Allegations
Talking to journalists on Sunday, Trump threatened analogous armed intervention against Bogotá, asserting the nation faces serious problems and “run by a problematic figure who likes making the drug and trafficking it to the United States."
While Colombia stands as the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally tied to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Alliance
The country for decades served as a key ally of the US in the struggle against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval in the US capital, however, the relationship have deteriorated dramatically after Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is predominantly run by illegal armed groups such as one major cartel, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, most of its former fighters demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Firm Response
Upon being questioned whether a military operation similar to Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump replied: "It sounds good from my perspective."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the 1990s, categorically refuted these allegations. "I am neither illegitimate and I am not a narco," he stated.
"He comments without information. End the false accusations," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will turn into numerous insurgents in the hills. And if they detain the nation's leader, which a large part of the country admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," he admonished.
From Fighter to Statesman
He passed part of his youth as a member with the radical M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate that he never engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in drafting the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and eventually served as a prominent senator. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before winning the presidency.
"I swore not to touch arms again ... but in defense of my country I would take up the fight," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures along with Cross-Political Rejection
The Colombian defence minister announced that the president’s protection team was strengthened.
Many among Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump, but voices from all sides of the political spectrum have rejected the possibility of an invasion targeting Colombia.
Political and Economic Sanctions
Washington withdrew Petro’s visa subsequent to he urged US troops to ignore orders that violate law. In October, the US enacted asset freezes against the president, his spouse and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently the US was building up its military presence in the region and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces executed strikes on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
