The US President and President Gustavo Petro have escalated the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising strains in their relations following US forces targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Escalating Rhetoric and Allegations
Speaking to the press on Sunday, Trump suggested comparable armed intervention against Bogotá, claiming Colombia is “very sick too” and “run by an unwell individual who enjoys creating cocaine and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia stands as the world’s largest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is directly involved in the illicit industry.
A Frayed Relationship
Colombia for decades served as a key ally of Washington in the campaign combating drug cartels and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, however, the relationship have deteriorated dramatically after Trump was elected.
The nation's drug trade is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions like the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters laid down arms following a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Defiant Rebuttal
Upon being questioned whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "It sounds good from my perspective."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle in the 1990s, rejected the accusations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I a narco," he declared.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he wrote online.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will transform into numerous insurgents in the mountains. And should they arrest the president, which a large part of the country holds in high esteem, they will provoke the powerful force of the nation," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group though it is believed to have ever engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he took part in drafting the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s subsequently becoming an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I made a vow not to touch a weapon again ... but for Colombia I shall resume the fight," he said.
Reinforced Protection and Widespread Rejection
Colombia's defense chief reported that the president’s personal security was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump's stance, yet figures from all sides of Colombian politics have denounced the possibility of American military action on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
American authorities withdrew Petro’s visa subsequent to he called on American soldiers to refuse orders that violate law. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions against the president, the first lady and several key allies.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its forces near Venezuela and striking alleged narcotics traffickers against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted operations on boats off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
