The US President and his Colombian counterpart have intensified the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, increasing strains bilaterally following US forces struck Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs cocaine mills and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Growing Rhetoric and Claims
Talking to journalists over the weekend, Trump hinted at similar armed intervention towards the South American nation, claiming the nation faces serious problems and led by an unwell individual who likes making cocaine and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is personally involved in the business.
A Strained Relationship
The country was historically a close partner of Washington in the campaign against drug trafficking and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, but relations have soured markedly following Trump came to office.
The nation's drug trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "That seems like a good idea to me."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who disarmed in the 1990s, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not a drug trafficker," he stated.
"He comments uninformed. End the false accusations," he posted online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will become a multitude of fighters in the mountains. If they capture the president, whom a significant portion of Colombians loves and respects, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 guerrilla group though it is believed to have ever participated in combat. After demobilizing, he was involved in drafting a new constitution over three decades ago subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I made a vow not to touch a gun ... but for Colombia I shall resume arms again," he affirmed.
Increased Security along with Cross-Political Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister announced that the president’s security detail had received additional support.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with Trump, however, leaders spanning the political spectrum have rejected the possibility of a US attack on Colombia.
Bilateral and Economic Sanctions
The US cancelled Petro’s visa following he encouraged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed economic restrictions against the president, his wife and several associates.
Concurrently while America bolstered its troop levels near Venezuela and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted strikes against vessels in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
