President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have intensified the volume of their war of words, increasing strains bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs cocaine mills and processing labs and that won't last much longer," the US president stated.
Growing Tensions coupled with Claims
Addressing reporters on Sunday, the US president suggested analogous use of force against Colombia, stating the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man who enjoys creating cocaine and distributing it to the US."
Although Colombia stands as the world’s largest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the business.
A Deteriorating Relationship
This nation has long been a close partner of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and benefited from cross-party backing in Washington, yet ties have soured significantly since Trump came to office.
Its narcotics trade is predominantly run by guerrilla factions including the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members disbanded after a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Defiant Answer
When asked if armed intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good from my perspective."
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who left armed struggle in the 1990s, rejected these allegations. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not a narco," he stated.
"The US president speaks without information. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a post.
"If US bombs target rural communities, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And if they detain me, whom a significant portion of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to Leader
The president dedicated part of his youth participating of the leftist M-19 armed organization though it is believed to have ever took part in armed clashes. Upon leaving the group, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and eventually served as a prominent senator. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election the presidency.
"I made a vow to never again hold a gun ... but for the homeland I will take up the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures along with Cross-Political Opposition
The Colombian defence minister announced that the national leader's security detail had received additional support.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, however, leaders from all sides of the ideological divide have rejected the possibility of American military action against their nation.
Bilateral and Financial Pressure
Washington withdrew the president's entry visa after he encouraged US military personnel to disobey unlawful commands. Later, in October, authorities imposed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his wife and several close collaborators.
At the same time the US was building up its troop levels near Venezuela and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out attacks against vessels in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
