Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart have turned up the rhetoric of their war of words, heightening tensions in their relations following American military units targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs narcotics facilities and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Growing Rhetoric and Claims
Addressing the press on Sunday, the US president hinted at comparable armed intervention towards the South American nation, asserting the country is “very sick too” and led by a sick man involved in producing narcotics and trafficking it to the United States."
Although Colombia stands as the leading source of the narcotic, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way involved in the business.
A Strained Alliance
Colombia for decades served as a close partner of the United States in the fight against narcotics trade and benefited from cross-party backing in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured dramatically since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members demobilised subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Strong Answer
In response to a query if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle in the last century, firmly denied the accusations. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"He comments uninformed. End the false accusations," he expressed online.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. If they capture the nation's leader, whom many of Colombians admires and supports, they will release the powerful force of the people," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member of the leftist M-19 armed organization although reports indicate that he never took part in armed clashes. Upon leaving the group, he participated in drafting the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and eventually served as an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before winning president.
"I pledged not to touch arms again ... but for the homeland I shall resume arms again," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures along with Broad Opposition
Colombia's defense chief stated that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have expressed support with the US president, yet figures spanning the political spectrum have denounced the threats of an invasion targeting Colombia.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
The US cancelled the president's entry visa after he encouraged US military personnel to refuse unlawful commands. Months later, it placed financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and various key allies.
At the same time as the US increased its military presence near Venezuela and bombing suspected drug boats to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out operations on boats off the Pacific coast adjacent to Colombia.
