President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the volume of their exchange, increasing tensions between the two countries following American military units targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs narcotics facilities and production sites and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Rising Threats coupled with Claims
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the American leader hinted at analogous use of force against Colombia, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and governed by a problematic figure who likes making narcotics and selling it to America."
Although Colombia is the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally connected to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Alliance
Colombia has long been a key ally of Washington in the struggle against drug trafficking and enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington, but relations have soured markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s drug trade is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions including one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the demobilized Farc, a large contingent of whom disbanded subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Strong Rebuttal
When asked if military intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the last century, rejected these allegations. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he expressed online.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will turn into numerous insurgents across the countryside. And should they arrest me, whom a large part of the country admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to President
He passed part of his youth belonging with the radical M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he participated in creating the nation's constitution in 1991 and eventually served as a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected the presidency.
"I swore to never again hold a gun ... but for Colombia I would take up arms again," he vowed.
Reinforced Protection along with Cross-Political Condemnation
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the president’s protection team had received additional support.
A segment of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with the US president, but voices spanning the ideological divide have condemned the threats of a US attack on Colombia.
Bilateral and Economic Pressure
Washington cancelled Petro’s visa following he called on US military personnel to disobey orders that violate law. Later, in October, it placed asset freezes against the president, the first lady and a number of key allies.
Simultaneously the US was building up its forces near Venezuela and bombing suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted operations against vessels in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
