President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the tone of their war of words, further raising strains bilaterally after US forces attacked Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs drug factories and production sites and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Escalating Rhetoric and Claims
Addressing the press over the weekend, Trump hinted at similar armed intervention towards the South American nation, asserting the nation faces serious problems and led by a problematic figure who enjoys creating narcotics and trafficking it to the US."
While Colombia remains the leading source of the narcotic, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way tied to the trade.
A Strained Relationship
This nation has long been a close partner of Washington in the fight against drug trafficking and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, yet ties have soured markedly following Trump came to office.
Its drug trade is largely controlled by guerrilla factions such as the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members disbanded subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
The President's Defiant Rebuttal
In response to a query whether a military operation like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the last century, rejected Trump's claims. "I am neither an illegitimate leader nor am I involved in narcotics," he stated.
"The US president speaks without knowledge. End the false accusations," he wrote in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, which a large part of Colombians loves and respects, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," Petro warned.
From Fighter to President
Petro spent a period in his early life belonging in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in drafting a new constitution over three decades ago subsequently becoming a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I made a vow to abstain from using a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume arms again," he vowed.
Increased Security along with Broad Rejection
The Colombian defence minister reported that Petro's protection team was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures spanning the ideological divide have rejected the threats of American military action targeting Colombia.
Political and Financial Strains
American authorities cancelled the president's entry visa after he called on American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Later, in October, the US enacted asset freezes against the president, the first lady and a number of close collaborators.
At the same time as the US increased its troop levels in the region and bombing alleged narcotics traffickers to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted operations on maritime targets in Pacific waters near Colombia.
