The US President along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the volume of their war of words, further raising strains bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has narcotics facilities and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Growing Threats coupled with Claims
Talking to journalists on Sunday, Trump hinted at analogous armed intervention towards the South American nation, stating the country is also "very ill" and “run by an unwell individual who likes making the drug and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia stands as the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally involved in the business.
A Frayed Alliance
This nation was historically a close partner of the US in the struggle against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval from American politicians, but relations have soured significantly since Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's narcotics trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations such as the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom demobilised following a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Defiant Rebuttal
When asked whether armed intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who disarmed in the last century, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he stated.
"He comments uninformed. Stop slandering me," he expressed online.
"Should American forces attack rural communities, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. If they capture me, which a large part of the population loves and respects, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the people," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
The president dedicated part of his youth as a member with the radical M-19 armed organization though it is believed that he never participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he participated in writing a new constitution in 1991 subsequently becoming a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá prior to his election the presidency.
"I swore not to touch arms again ... but for the homeland I will take up the fight," he affirmed.
Reinforced Protection and Broad Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister stated that the president’s security detail had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have expressed support with Trump's stance, yet figures from all sides of the ideological divide have condemned the threats of a US attack against their nation.
Political and Economic Strains
Washington cancelled his travel authorization subsequent to he urged US military personnel to ignore unlawful commands. Later, in October, authorities imposed asset freezes on Petro, his wife and a number of associates.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its troop levels near Venezuela and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out attacks on boats in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
