The US President and his Colombian counterpart have turned up the volume in their verbal conflict, heightening strains bilaterally following American military units struck Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs drug factories and cocaine factories and his time is running out," Trump added.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Accusations
Talking to journalists on Sunday, the US president hinted at comparable armed intervention towards the South American nation, stating the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man involved in producing narcotics and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia stands as the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is personally tied to the business.
A Strained Partnership
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of the US in the fight against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval from American politicians, however, the relationship have soured dramatically after Trump was elected.
Its illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by criminal organizations such as the Clan del Golfo, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members disbanded subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Defiant Rebuttal
In response to a query whether a military operation similar to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the 1990s, rejected the accusations. "I am not an illegitimate leader and I am not a drug trafficker," he declared.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a large part of the population loves and respects, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to Leader
He passed a period in his early life as a member of the leftist M-19 armed organization though it is believed he did not participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he participated in drafting the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and later became a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I made a vow to abstain from using arms again ... but in defense of my country I would take up arms again," he vowed.
Reinforced Protection along with Cross-Political Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief reported that Petro's security detail had received additional support.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures from all sides of the political spectrum have condemned the notion of American military action on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Sanctions
Washington withdrew Petro’s visa following he called on US military personnel to ignore any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed financial sanctions on Petro, his spouse and various close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its military presence in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed strikes on boats in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
