President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the volume in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions bilaterally following American military units targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates cocaine mills and cocaine factories and that won't last much longer," the US president stated.
Growing Threats and Claims
Addressing reporters over the weekend, the American leader suggested analogous military action against Colombia, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and led by an unwell individual who enjoys creating cocaine and selling it to the US."
Although Colombia stands as the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly connected to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Relationship
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of the US in the fight against narcotics trade and received wide political approval in the US capital, yet ties have soured significantly following Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations such as the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters disbanded after a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Defiant Rebuttal
Upon being questioned if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that from my perspective."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the last century, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and certainly not a drug trafficker," he stated.
"Trump speaks without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he posted online.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the hills. And should they arrest the president, whom a large part of the country admires and supports, they will unleash the fierce spirit of the people," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging with the radical M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate he did not participated in combat. After demobilizing, he was involved in drafting the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and later became a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of Bogotá before winning president.
"I made a vow to never again hold arms again ... but for the homeland I would take up arms again," he affirmed.
Reinforced Protection along with Cross-Political Opposition
The Colombian defence minister reported that Petro's security detail was strengthened.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, but voices spanning the ideological divide have rejected the possibility of a US attack on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Financial Sanctions
American authorities revoked Petro’s visa after he urged US military personnel to refuse orders that violate law. In October, the US enacted financial sanctions on Petro, his spouse and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its forces in the Caribbean and targeting alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out strikes on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
