Donald Trump along with Colombia's president have escalated the volume of their exchange, further raising tensions in their relations after US forces attacked Venezuela with the aim of deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has narcotics facilities and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Escalating Tensions coupled with Allegations
Addressing reporters over the weekend, the American leader hinted at analogous military action against Bogotá, asserting the nation faces serious problems and “run by a problematic figure who enjoys creating the drug and selling it to the US."
While Colombia is the leading cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly connected to the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Relationship
Colombia for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the United States in the campaign against narcotics trade and received cross-party backing in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured dramatically since Trump was elected.
Its drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations such as one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, a large contingent of whom demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned if military intervention comparable to Venezuela was a possibility for Colombia, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the last century, rejected Trump's claims. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and I am not a narco," he affirmed.
"Trump speaks without information. Cease defaming me," he expressed in a message.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And should they arrest the nation's leader, which a significant portion of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," Petro warned.
From Fighter to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man belonging in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in writing the constitutional rewrite in 1991 subsequently becoming a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá before winning the nation's highest office.
"I swore to never again hold a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume arms again," he affirmed.
Increased Security and Cross-Political Opposition
The Colombian defence minister announced that the national leader's security detail had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump's stance, yet figures from all sides of the ideological divide have denounced the possibility of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
Washington cancelled the president's entry visa subsequent to he encouraged US troops to disobey unlawful commands. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions on Petro, the first lady and a number of key allies.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean and striking suspected drug boats against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted strikes on boats off the Pacific coast adjacent to Colombia.
