The US President and President Gustavo Petro have escalated the rhetoric of their exchange, heightening tensions bilaterally after US forces struck Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates narcotics facilities and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Rising Tensions and Claims
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the American leader threatened similar armed intervention against Bogotá, stating the country is “very sick too” and governed by a sick man who likes making cocaine and distributing it to America."
Although Colombia remains the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally involved in the illicit industry.
A Frayed Partnership
This nation has long been a close partner of the United States in the fight against narcotics trade and received wide political approval in the US capital, but relations have deteriorated significantly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions like the Clan del Golfo, another leftist insurgency and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Strong Answer
In response to a query if military intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the 1990s, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not a drug trafficker," he stated.
"The US president speaks without information. End the false accusations," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the hills. If they capture me, which many of the population loves and respects, they will unleash the powerful force of the nation," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed to have ever participated in combat. Following his disarmament, he was involved in writing a new constitution in the early 90s subsequently becoming a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá prior to his election the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to never again hold arms again ... but for the homeland I will take up the fight," he vowed.
Increased Security and Broad Rejection
Colombia's defense chief stated that the president’s protection team had received additional support.
A segment of Colombia’s right wing opposition have expressed support with the US president, however, leaders from all sides of the ideological divide have denounced the possibility of American military action against their nation.
Political and Financial Pressure
Washington withdrew the president's entry visa subsequent to he called on US troops to disobey unlawful commands. In October, authorities imposed 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 targeting vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed strikes against vessels in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
