President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the tone in their verbal conflict, increasing tensions in their relations after American military units targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He operates drug factories and production sites and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Accusations
Addressing reporters over the weekend, the American leader threatened similar armed intervention against Colombia, stating the country is “very sick too” and “run by an unwell individual who likes making narcotics and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia is the leading cocaine-producing country, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly tied to the trade.
A Strained Partnership
The country has long been a key ally of Washington in the struggle against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in the US capital, yet ties have deteriorated dramatically after Trump was elected.
The nation's narcotics trade is predominantly run by illegal armed groups such as the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Strong Answer
When asked if military intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who left armed struggle in the 1990s, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not a narco," he declared.
"Trump speaks without knowledge. Cease defaming me," he posted online.
"If US bombs target rural communities, they will become a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And should they arrest the president, whom a large part of the population admires and supports, they will release the powerful force of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to Statesman
Petro spent some years as a young man participating of the leftist M-19 armed organization though it is believed to have ever participated in combat. After demobilizing, he participated in creating a new constitution in 1991 and later became a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to abstain from using a gun ... but in defense of my country I will take up weapons once more," he said.
Heightened Measures and Broad Condemnation
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump's stance, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have denounced the notion of an invasion against their nation.
Political and Financial Pressure
The US withdrew the president's entry visa after he called on American soldiers to ignore any illegal orders. Months later, authorities imposed economic restrictions on Petro, his wife and several close collaborators.
At the same time as the US increased its military presence near Venezuela and targeting suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted attacks on boats off the Pacific coast adjacent to Colombia.
