The US President and his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume of their war of words, further raising strains between the two countries following US forces targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He operates narcotics facilities and processing labs and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Talking to the press on Sunday, the US president suggested similar armed intervention against Colombia, stating the country is “very sick too” and governed by an unwell individual who enjoys creating narcotics and distributing it to America."
While Colombia remains the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally tied to the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Relationship
Colombia was historically a close partner of Washington in the struggle combating drug cartels and enjoyed wide political approval from American politicians, yet ties have worsened markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations like the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised following a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Strong Answer
In response to a query if armed 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 left armed struggle decades ago, firmly denied these allegations. "I am no illegitimate and I am not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"Trump speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he posted in a post.
"Should American forces attack rural communities, they will turn into numerous insurgents in the hills. And should they arrest the president, which a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the people," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to President
He passed a period in his early life participating with the radical M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of the capital city prior to his election president.
"I made a vow to never again hold a gun ... but for Colombia I shall resume weapons once more," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures along with Cross-Political Opposition
The Colombian defence minister announced that Petro's security detail had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with the US president, but voices spanning the political spectrum have denounced the possibility of American military action targeting Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Sanctions
The US cancelled the president's entry visa subsequent to he encouraged American soldiers to disobey unlawful commands. Months later, the US enacted asset freezes targeting Petro, his spouse and a number of key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its forces in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out attacks against vessels in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
